Monthly Report: Referral of Patients from the Gaza Strip, January 2013
Summary
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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.
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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.
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Patients delayed: 56 patients (21 F; 35 M) did not receive a response to their permit application and missed their hospital appointments.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.