2 June 2016
In the UK when someone has a health problem they will usually first visit their GP, who can, if necessary, refer them on to specialists for tests or treatment. This is part of the ‘family medicine’ model of healthcare which MAP are helping to adapting for the Palestinian system to help address 21st century health challenges from an ageing population to increases in non-communicable diseases.
Over the next year MAP and the ‘International Development of Family Medicine in Palestine’ are supporting An Najjah National University to teach Palestinian GPs the key skills needed for applying the family medicine model in their work. MAP is also helping to establish three new training centres for family doctors across the West Bank, and supporting the development of an online programme for the training of multidisciplinary primary healthcare teams.
Both Dr Omar Abuhamad and Dr Jihad Mohsen attend the university in Nablus, located in the north of the West Bank. They are from Bethlehem and Hebron respectively. Speaking to MAP Dr Mohsen explained that “today I left from Hebron on a bus at 5 am to get here on time for the class at 9 am. The roads are very unpredictable with flying checkpoints or random delays caused by the Israeli army. However, I happily take this challenge to attend the lectures, they are so important for me.”
His fellow student, Dr Abuhamad, said that “I need more practice to become a real family doctor. What we learn here in the university is how to communicate with patients and they show us to think more openly. They teach how to be more than just a GP and we are trained how to our job in the best way. There is no culture of family medicine in the West Bank, although everybody working in the sector acknowledges the benefits. We need a modification of the entire sector. There can be no future without a good family medicine programme.”
Dr. David Jewell is a retired family medicine specialist from Bristol who is currently working with An-Najjah University to establish MAP’s family medicine project. According to Dr Jewell; “family medicine is the hardest job to do well and the easiest job to do badly. A GP in Palestine, goes to the office and hears the same day in which clinic he will have to work. He does not know the patients, they don’t know him and might not trust him directly, and there are no patients’ records. Try to compare that to the situation in the UK or Europe where you often go to the same doctor for years, someone you trust to give you the best care possible. There is a perfect quote supporting this theory - ‘cure sometimes, treat often, comfort always’, we need a Palestinian system that can support this slogan.”
Dr. Mohammed Rabaie, Family Medicine Specialist and newly appointed head of the Family Medicine Association in Palestine agreed that “the concept of Family Medicine is still new in the West Bank and thus requires some time for the society to understand it. The biggest challenges of Family Medicine are a lack of community knowledge, a lack of experienced and specialised family doctors, and a lack of training centres for effective family medicine practice. MAP is a very strong partner that we believe will help us overcome the challenges through providing training, capacity building, and training facilities, and through conducting workshops for new family doctors. My hope for the future would be to have a family doctor for each Palestinian family who takes care of their health. I also hope that all health clinics would switch from the current system to FM operational centres. It would also be great to continuously share experiences with family medicine specialists in different countries. Lastly, I hope that peace would prevail on the land of Palestine, and would give my people freedom, health and wellness.”
Featured image: Over the next year MAP and the ‘International Development of Family Medicine in Palestine’ are supporting An Najjah National University to teach Palestinian GPs the key skills needed for applying the family medicine model in their work. MAP is also helping to establish three new training centres for family doctors across the West Bank, and supporting the development of an online programme for the training of multidisciplinary primary healthcare teams.