In Gaza, the spread of nosocomial infections – infections that are contracted within a hospital environment usually via health workers, patients or hospital equipment – is common. A study in the Lancet found that 24% of patients admitted to the Shifa Hospital’s intensive care unit contracted a nosocomial infection, indicating the need for additional preventive and control measures.
These infections prolong hospital stays, can create long-term disability for patients and cause huge additional financial burdens for health systems. The major causes of the spread of nosocomial infections include unhygienic and overcrowded hospital conditions, poor infrastructure, insufficient equipment, understaffing and a poor knowledge and application of basic infection control measures.
In all the secondary health care settings Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) works in, Israel’s illegal closure and blockade and repeated military offensives on Gaza have exacerbated shortages of essential, high quality equipment; prevented health workers from accessing training and professional development opportunities outside Gaza; and caused damage to healthcare infrastructure.
MAP has been working to improve sterilisation and infection prevention and control (IPC) in Gaza since the discovery of a rusted instrument that was donated in 2016 to MAP’s limb reconstruction project. While the shelf life of the item was 10 years, it rusted in two months, prompting us to investigate and seek solutions.
MAP and Dr Robert Spencer, a Consultant in Clinical and Environmental Microbiology in the UK, conducted an assessment at almost all the sterilisation services departments at the major public hospitals in Gaza. It revealed the extent of the poor IPC practices. Since then, MAP has addressed these gaps by training staff through medical missions from the UK, providing essential equipment and building or refurbishing sterilisation services departments inside hospitals.