Today's Edition
HALA AL KHAYYAT (ABU DHABI)
Patients from the Gaza Strip who are undergoing treatment in UAE hospitals have expressed their gratitude to President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his directives to host one thousand Palestinians in the UAE to receive cancer treatment in the country’s hospitals.
The patients told Aletihad that they are grateful for the UAE’s efforts in facilitating their transfer from the Gaza Strip and for providing treatment, especially after many were left without treatment or medication for months after a bombing closed the only oncology-equipped hospital in Gaza. The patients praised the warm reception they received upon their arrival by teams from the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) and medical staff.
President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s directive to host patients from the Gaza Strip embodies the UAE’s standing humanitarian approach to extend a helping hand to others in difficult circumstances. This initiative is part of the UAE’s continuous efforts at various levels to help the Palestinian people and enhance the response to the increasingly severe humanitarian conditions in the enclave.
Aletihad met with Hussam Abu Hatab, who underwent surgery immediately upon his arrival in the UAE to remove a 1.6-kilogramme tumour in his back. Abu Hatab is still in Burjeel Medical City undergoing follow-up treatments.
Abu Hatab told Aletihad that he began to recover soon after the operation, which relieved him of the severe pain and inability to walk caused by the tumour in his back, in addition to the accompanying physical and psychological exhaustion.
Staff from Burjeel Medical City’s Hematology and Oncology Clinic began treating Abu Hatab’s condition quickly and efficiently, conducting all examinations and carrying out the operation two days after his arrival, he said.
Abu Hatab explained that the patients were first received in Al Arish by an Emirati medical team, supported and sponsored by the ERC. Upon their arrival in the UAE, they were hosted in the Emirates Humanitarian City, where they underwent evaluation by medical teams. Abu Hatab’s case was identified as a priority and he was directly transferred to Burjeel Medical City for treatment. Abu Hatab thanked President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan for his humanitarian efforts, and affirmed that the UAE has taken in the largest number of cancer patients after the sole oncology-equipped hospital in the Gaza Strip was rendered inoperable.
Nazmi Khamis Al Ghleiz, 67, who suffers from prostate cancer, deemed the UAE’s intiaitive as a “lifeline” after cancer patients in the Gaza Strip were unable to receive radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Al Ghleiz noted that his health began to improve after the start of his treatment at Burjeel Medical City. He thanked the UAE for the warm reception and expressed his appreciation for the ongoing efforts of the medical staff, who he said spared no effort in providing all means of care and comfort to the Palestinian patients.
Beyond cancer patients, the UAE has welcomed other Palestinans into the country for medical treatment. Aletihad met with Amal Mohsen, 26, who arrived in the UAE accompanying a child who came to the country for treatment. Mohsen, who was eight months pregnant when she arrived in the country, underwent a cesarean section and welcomed her baby in the UAE.
“We received exceptional care as soon as we arrived in the country, and the attention was beyond words. The medical staff is doing a great job to provide the highest level of services,” Mohsen said.
Burjeel Medical City has so far received 25 patients, including those suffering from cancer and injured children.
Dr. Amin Abid, a specialist in the Department of Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Oncology at Burjeel Medical City, said that in implementation of the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Burjeel Medical City is honoured to have received a large number of Palestinian patients from the Gaza Strip, who suffered from a lack of medical treatments for months.
“As soon as the injured arrived, their condition was assessed and they were transferred to specialised departments that started providing the treatment for each case,” Abid said. After the assessment, medical staff found that the vast majority of patients were diagnosed with blood and oncological diseases, some of whom had urgent cases and were admitted to the hospital for necessary procedures. Most patients were taken into the Hematology and Oncology Clinic for the continuation or completion of their treatment, Abid added.
Many patients suffered from a three-month gap in treatment after war broke out in the Gaza Strip, causing many of their conditions to deteriorate, Abid said. He noted that some patients have been discharged after their health improved, while others remain hospitalised following surgical operations that require ongoing care. Some need palliative radiation, he added.
Abid stressed that the medical, nursing, and technical staff are committed to providing the best possible medical care to ensure the safety and rapid recovery of the patients. He wished all the injured a speedy recovery, welcoming them and their families to the UAE. Burjeel Medical City teams are fully prepared to receive new cases in the coming days, he said.
