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Monthly Report: Referral of Patients from the Gaza Strip, January 2013

Countries
oPt
Sources
WHO
Publication date

Summary

  • Death at Erez: A patient critically ill with H1N1 virus died at Erez checkpoint shortly after his transfer to an Israeli ambulance. Resuscitation had been attempted by both Israeli and Palestinian ambulance teams.

  • Patients interrogated: 12 patients (3 F; 9 M) who had applied for permits in January to cross Erez checkpoint were requested to appear for Israeli security interviews.

  • Patients delayed: 56 patients (21 F; 35 M) did not receive a response to their permit application and missed their hospital appointments.

  • Referrals within oPt: January represented the highest number of referrals to East Jerusalem hospitals in the past three years, and highest to West Bank hospitals since 2011.

  • Referrals to Jordan: Only one patient received financial coverage from the Ministry of Health for treatment in Jordanian hospitals. 6 self-funded patients applied for permits.

  • Referrals to non-MoH facilities inside Gaza: 133 cases were referred to private and NGO facilities inside Gaza mainly for lithotripsy, MRI, and cardiac catheterization.

  • Medical reasons for referrals: Most January 2013 referrals were for treatment in oncology (16.5%), nuclear medicine (10%), urology (8%), paediatrics (7%), orthopaedics (6%), ophthalmology (6%), haematology (5.5%), heart surgery (5%), heart catheterization (5%) and neurosurgery (5%). The estimated cost was NIS 12.8 million.