6 November 2020
In September, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and the International Medical Education Trust 2000 (IMET2000), supported by the British Consulate General, delivered 15 Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) respirators to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Ramallah to help save lives amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
These highly-effective CPAP respirators were developed by University College London (UCL) and manufactured by Mercedes High Performance Powertrains in the UK. They deliver oxygen under pressure, enabling many patients to recover without intrusive ventilation. This allows ventilators to be used for the most critically ill patients.
The IMET2000 team are now training doctors and nurses in the five West Bank hospitals that will receive the respirators. Trainings have been conducted at the Military Hospital in Nablus and the Hugo Chavez Hospital and the Palestinian Medical Complex in Ramallah, with more planned in the coming weeks in Dura and Alia Hospitals in Hebron.
Thaer Hamadna is a nurse at the National Hospital in Nablus, West Bank. Thaer was among the 15 health workers who participated in the CPAP training that took place this week at Hugo Chavez Hospital near Ramallah.
In an interview with MAP, Thaer said: “The National Hospital recently opened a department for COVID 19 patients, including an ICU unit. I am pleased to be part of this training and to be introduced to this simple, yet complex medical tool.”
“CPAP can be a very helpful alternative amid the shortages of the expensive and complicated ventilators. The machines are much-needed and will save many lives. They need no electricity to operate, and can be used outside the ICU units if we have access to an oxygen pump. I am looking forward to starting to use the CPAP machines in our hospital.”
Aisha Mansour, MAP’s director in the West Bank, said: “With cases of COVID-19 continuing to spread, the CPAP devices have arrived at a critical time, helping ensure the Ministry of Health can respond to the pandemic and save the lives of as many Palestinians as possible.”
If you would like to support MAP’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the occupied Palestinian territory and Palestinian refugee communities in Lebanon please donate online today.
