Healthcare Denied: The impact of checkpoints on ambulance access
24 March 2016
The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) records the timings of ambulance transfers and any incidents which may occur on a central database in order to track the work of their staff and identify issues to be raised with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
In partnership with Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI), MAP have collated the statistics and cases outlined below demonstrate the issues faced by PRCS teams on a daily basis. They highlight the negative impact of checkpoints and, in particular, back-to-back ambulance transfers on journeys and, most importantly, on patient health.
BACK-TO-BACK TRANSFERS
In order to have access to appropriate medical care it is sometimes necessary for emergency and non-emergency patients to be transferred from the West Bank to hospitals in Jerusalem.
In the process of this transfer, any patient passing through a checkpoint into East Jerusalem in a Palestinian ambulance must be transferred from the Palestinian registered ambulance to an Israeli registered ambulance. This process causes delays, which can lead to transfers through a checkpoint taking sometimes five times longer, causing significant discomfort and medical risk for the patient as they are walked or wheeled between ambulances in sometimes critical condition.
It is essential for the well-being and right to health of Palestinians that ambulances are given free access to hospitals.
To read cases of other risks to ambulance staff and patients, click the links below:
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) and Physicians for Human Rights – Israel (PHRI) have co-launched the first in a series of briefings exploring how Israel’s occupation affects the health and dignity of Palestinians.
This first chapter exposes how barriers to freedom of movement imposed by Israel are preventing some Palestinian patients from being able to access centres of vital care. These barriers include the bureaucratic control of movement imposed by Israel’s permit regime, and physical barriers of the network of checkpoints which control access into and out of Gaza, the west Bank and East Jerusalem.
The briefing calls on governments like the UK to place pressure on the Government of Israel to remove obstacles to the right to movement which undermine healthcare.
To read the briefing paper, click here.
Protection for Healthcare
This second chapter exposes how Palestinian medical facilities and personnel have been placed in harm’s way during repeated Israeli military offensives on Gaza and periods of heightened violence in the West Bank.
Our briefing highlights a failure to ensure credible investigation, accountability, or redress for attacks on healthcare in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). The UN Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza Conflict has stated that Israel has a “lamentable” record in holding wrongdoers to account. This impunity in turn contributes to the likelihood of further serious violations of international humanitarian law in the oPt and worldwide.
To read the briefing paper, click here.
Mental Health and Quality of Life
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has released the third in our series of briefings investigating the impact of 50 years of Israel’s military occupation on the health and dignity of Palestinians.
This third chapter exposes how the political and social conditions endured by Palestinians – including breaches of international humanitarian and human rights law – undermine psychological wellbeing and cause unnecessary trauma and suffering.
These conditions can be particularly damaging to the mental wellbeing of children, particularly those exposed to frequent violent conflict in Gaza, or arrested and detained by the Israeli military in the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
To read the briefing paper, click here.
Development
Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) has released the fourth in our series of briefings investigating the impact of 50 years of Israel’s military occupation on the health and dignity of Palestinians.
As the occupying power, Israel is obligated under international law to respect the Palestinian people’s rights to self-determination and development.
This latest chapter exposes how Israel’s practices and policies are violating these rights and obstructing the development of the health sector in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) (Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem).
To read the briefing paper, click here.
Ambulance services and patients must be permitted to move freely and to access appropriate medical care without obstruction. The process of back-to-back transfers, and all harassment and attacks on medical personal must end.
Featured image: A PRCS ambulance at a checkpoint. Image credit: Nuriya Oswald
