Latest news with #Ideals
The Guardian
05-08-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
‘Heartbreaking': a London surgeon on the trials of operating in a Gaza hospital
Every day between 4am and 6am, Graeme Groom, an orthopaedic surgeon from London, would be woken by a dawn chorus of bombs and missiles. And so began another 24 hours at the Nasser hospital in Gaza, the largest functioning hospital in the territory. Shortly after 8am, the first patients would be wheeled into the operating theatres. Groom and his orthopaedic and plastic surgery colleagues saw on average 20 patients a day: one-third children, one-third women, then men of all ages, their limbs mangled by bombs and guns. Groom, a co-founder of the charity Ideals that provides health services in places affected by conflict, has been to Gaza about 40 times, including four visits since Hamas militants attacked Israel on 7 October 2023. One evening on his most recent trip, just as the 12-hour-plus shift was ending, another emergency was wheeled in. It was an 11-year boy who had lost his nine siblings in an Israeli strike on their family home in Khan Younis. His father, a doctor, was in a critical condition, and later died of his injuries. That night Groom and his team managed to save the boy's arm, rather than amputate it. The boy's name was Adam al-Najjar. As Adam got better, the NHS doctor found that Adam spoke good English and had 'the most angelic smile', which could be prompted by a bar of chocolate from the surgeon's pocket. A few weeks later Adam and his mother were evacuated to Italy. Physically, he was much better by the time he left, Groom said, although it was too early to assess the long-term impact of the explosion on his brain, or the mental scars. 'We could not begin to get a mental health assessment of the effects of losing almost all his family in one bomb.' For every Palestinian child whose trauma captures headlines, there are thousands more whose stories go untold. The UN agency for children reported on 16 July that more than 17,000 children have been killed and 33,000 injured in the 21-month conflict. The NHS doctor recalls seven-year-old Yakub, who, with his older brother, was the only survivor of a bomb attack. Yakub's legs had been broken above and below the knees, the skin and much soft tissue flayed by bombs. 'While I was writing up the operation note … it was just heartbreaking to hear him calling for the mother who was dead.' He recalls two other patients: a mother who was cradling her three-year-old daughter when the bombs exploded. The child lost both legs, the mother's elbows were damaged, depriving her of the use of her arms. She is now regaining the use of one arm. Patients are usually discharged to tents, or improvised shelters in the sand, without rehabilitation. They are malnourished, so wounds heal less well. Infection rates are high and it is hard to keep track of them for follow-up. But it is happening. 'Amazing Palestinian colleagues are doing their very best … [and] without it, the mortality and the long-term disability rate would be much, much higher,' Groom said. The Ideals charity has been sending medical teams to the occupied Palestinian territories since 2009. But never before has it been so hard to bring in supplies. In the past Groom alone brought five large cases. On the most recent visit, his team was banned 'under pain of exclusion, confiscation and possible penalty' from bringing desperately needed equipment such as delicate plastic surgery tools for repairing vein and tissue or orthopaedic frames that allow broken bones to heal. Since the Ideals team first went to Gaza there have always been damaged buildings, but 'absolutely nothing to compare with the apocalyptic destruction that is everywhere' now. All his Palestinian colleagues have been forced to move, some many times. Many have lost close relatives, or most of their extended families. They live in tents near the hospitals with self-dug latrines for toilets. One woman slept in her hijab each night, 'so that if she was killed, she would be presentable', he recalled. 'What was astonishing was how many of them would turn up for work each day from their tents … clean, well-dressed and smiling.' Several appeared to shrug off unimaginable personal suffering. 'When they talked about the loss of family members … they would say 'this is our lives'. I probably have heard that a dozen times,' Groom said of his Palestinian colleagues. Several have also told him they do not want to be known as resilient. They just want the bombing to stop, said Groom. At his most recent visit, from 13 May to 4 June, market stalls had almost disappeared. Unrwa, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, reported on Tuesday that doctors and nurses were among people 'fainting from hunger and exhaustion', having previously said Israeli authorities were 'starving civilians'. On 20 July, an anaesthetist, who was also a parent to six children, told Groom that he and his family were starving. His children ranging from two to 13 are suffering from fatigue, weakness, cramps and amnesia. They were confused, they were crying, the anaesthetist said in messages to Groom seen by the Guardian. The anaesthetist could only give them salt to lick and water. Groom has relayed what he has witnessed in Gaza to policymakers in Brussels, Berlin and Paris, urging greater western pressure on Israel. 'Everywhere we were met with empathy, very often with tears, but with a sense of impotence.' After he spoke to the Guardian, the European Commission proposed a partial suspension of Israel's participation in the EU research programme, the first possible punitive measure against the Israeli government, which must be agreed by a majority of member states to take effect. Groom had been 'hugely disappointed' when earlier this month EU foreign ministers took no action following a review into the bloc's relations with Israel, 'but I don't think the fight is over'.
North Wales Chronicle
22-05-2025
- Health
- North Wales Chronicle
UK surgeon treating patients in Gaza warzone says population ‘at its last limit'
Dr Tiziana Roggio, an Italian plastic surgeon based at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, first arrived in Gaza on May 12 alongside a team of four other London-based doctors. Dr Roggio is volunteering for a month at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, tending to patients with blast injuries and burns with limited medical supplies. Over recent days, strikes have pounded areas across Gaza and Israel has issued evacuation orders for Khan Younis. Dr Tiziana Roggio says she hears drones over her head every day (Dr Tiziana Roggio/PA) Dr Roggio said Nasser hospital is just 1.5km (0.9 miles) away from the declared red zone and fears what will happen to patients if the hospital has to be evacuated. 'If this hospital shuts down, loads of patients will die because they won't have anywhere to go,' Dr Roggio told the PA news agency from the operating theatre in Nasser hospital. 'This is the biggest hospital in Khan Younis and has a large volume of patients, and has ICU facilities, oxygen generators, has got scans and operating rooms that can accommodate big surgical procedures like vascular surgery. 'If this hospital closes, the only hospitals remaining will be the tent hospitals. 'Although these hospitals are functional, they don't have facilities that can support ICU patients or complex surgical procedures.' Dr Roggio, who travelled from London to Gaza with a humanitarian charity called International Disaster & Emergency Aid with Long-term Support (Ideals), said the situation in Gaza is much worse than she had anticipated. 'Its been quite shocking. I've been told that it's much worse now, because the population is really on its last limit,' she said. 'We have drones over our heads every day and it gets honestly unbearable sometimes, because it's really loud. 'It's really warm at the moment so you kind of want to keep the windows open and you can't, it gets really stressful. 'I can't keep track of time, because I don't even know what day it is.' Dr Roggio described hearing 'massive blast noises' on Tuesday morning after an Israeli drone strike hit the area. 'Yesterday morning I guess that we were bombed early in the morning. We were sleeping at about 5.30am and the whole building shook,' she said. 'We heard this massive blast noise and we all went out and we had jets flying over our heads and dropping bombs in the area that is very near where we are.' A tent settlement in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza (Dr Tiziana Roggio/PA) Dr Roggio, who has been working 12-hour shifts at Nasser hospital treating 10 to 12 people every day, described working with severely malnourished patients and having limited antibiotics. 'All the patients we treat are severely malnourished and this is a problem for us plastic surgeons, because all the wounds are not going to heal,' she said. 'If the patient is not on adequate nutrition, the infection rate is really high.' She also described the challenges of working with limited antibiotics. 'They are essentially antibiotics that we give to our patients in the UK at the induction of surgical procedures,' she said. 'But here these antibiotics are used to treat severe infection, and these are all wounds that are highly contaminated because they are from blast injuries. 'We are treating things that in the UK would be absolutely healed in one week but here it's taking forever.' Dr Roggio commended the resilience of local medical staff who have been operating in such severe circumstances for the last 18 months. 'I'm absolutely shocked to see how the local team is coping with this situation that has been going on for a very long time,' she said. 'Consider that they come every day from their accommodation, which means tents, where they had to live for the last few months. 'They have been forced to leave their houses and take their belongings. 'They don't lose energy. They come here every day. They're super polite. They even bring us presents and food, which is absolutely shocking, because they have literally nothing. They don't even have water.' The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, a third of whom are believed to still be alive. In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The Ideals JustGiving donations page can be found at:
Western Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Health
- Western Telegraph
UK surgeon treating patients in Gaza warzone says population ‘at its last limit'
Dr Tiziana Roggio, an Italian plastic surgeon based at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, first arrived in Gaza on May 12 alongside a team of four other London-based doctors. Dr Roggio is volunteering for a month at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, tending to patients with blast injuries and burns with limited medical supplies. Over recent days, strikes have pounded areas across Gaza and Israel has issued evacuation orders for Khan Younis. Dr Tiziana Roggio says she hears drones over her head every day (Dr Tiziana Roggio/PA) Dr Roggio said Nasser hospital is just 1.5km (0.9 miles) away from the declared red zone and fears what will happen to patients if the hospital has to be evacuated. 'If this hospital shuts down, loads of patients will die because they won't have anywhere to go,' Dr Roggio told the PA news agency from the operating theatre in Nasser hospital. 'This is the biggest hospital in Khan Younis and has a large volume of patients, and has ICU facilities, oxygen generators, has got scans and operating rooms that can accommodate big surgical procedures like vascular surgery. 'If this hospital closes, the only hospitals remaining will be the tent hospitals. 'Although these hospitals are functional, they don't have facilities that can support ICU patients or complex surgical procedures.' Dr Roggio, who travelled from London to Gaza with a humanitarian charity called International Disaster & Emergency Aid with Long-term Support (Ideals), said the situation in Gaza is much worse than she had anticipated. 'Its been quite shocking. I've been told that it's much worse now, because the population is really on its last limit,' she said. 'We have drones over our heads every day and it gets honestly unbearable sometimes, because it's really loud. 'It's really warm at the moment so you kind of want to keep the windows open and you can't, it gets really stressful. 'I can't keep track of time, because I don't even know what day it is.' Dr Roggio described hearing 'massive blast noises' on Tuesday morning after an Israeli drone strike hit the area. 'Yesterday morning I guess that we were bombed early in the morning. We were sleeping at about 5.30am and the whole building shook,' she said. 'We heard this massive blast noise and we all went out and we had jets flying over our heads and dropping bombs in the area that is very near where we are.' A tent settlement in Khan Younis, Southern Gaza (Dr Tiziana Roggio/PA) Dr Roggio, who has been working 12-hour shifts at Nasser hospital treating 10 to 12 people every day, described working with severely malnourished patients and having limited antibiotics. 'All the patients we treat are severely malnourished and this is a problem for us plastic surgeons, because all the wounds are not going to heal,' she said. 'If the patient is not on adequate nutrition, the infection rate is really high.' She also described the challenges of working with limited antibiotics. 'They are essentially antibiotics that we give to our patients in the UK at the induction of surgical procedures,' she said. 'But here these antibiotics are used to treat severe infection, and these are all wounds that are highly contaminated because they are from blast injuries. 'We are treating things that in the UK would be absolutely healed in one week but here it's taking forever.' Dr Roggio commended the resilience of local medical staff who have been operating in such severe circumstances for the last 18 months. 'I'm absolutely shocked to see how the local team is coping with this situation that has been going on for a very long time,' she said. 'Consider that they come every day from their accommodation, which means tents, where they had to live for the last few months. 'They have been forced to leave their houses and take their belongings. 'They don't lose energy. They come here every day. They're super polite. They even bring us presents and food, which is absolutely shocking, because they have literally nothing. They don't even have water.' The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, a third of whom are believed to still be alive. In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The Ideals JustGiving donations page can be found at:
Powys County Times
22-05-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
UK surgeon treating patients in Gaza warzone says population ‘at its last limit'
A UK-based surgeon treating Palestinians in one of the last functioning hospitals in Gaza has said the local population is 'at its last limit' amid daily drone strikes. Dr Tiziana Roggio, an Italian plastic surgeon based at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, first arrived in Gaza on May 12 alongside a team of four other London-based doctors. Dr Roggio is volunteering for a month at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, tending to patients with blast injuries and burns with limited medical supplies. Over recent days, strikes have pounded areas across Gaza and Israel has issued evacuation orders for Khan Younis. Dr Roggio said Nasser hospital is just 1.5km (0.9 miles) away from the declared red zone and fears what will happen to patients if the hospital has to be evacuated. 'If this hospital shuts down, loads of patients will die because they won't have anywhere to go,' Dr Roggio told the PA news agency from the operating theatre in Nasser hospital. 'This is the biggest hospital in Khan Younis and has a large volume of patients, and has ICU facilities, oxygen generators, has got scans and operating rooms that can accommodate big surgical procedures like vascular surgery. 'If this hospital closes, the only hospitals remaining will be the tent hospitals. 'Although these hospitals are functional, they don't have facilities that can support ICU patients or complex surgical procedures.' Dr Roggio, who travelled from London to Gaza with a humanitarian charity called International Disaster & Emergency Aid with Long-term Support (Ideals), said the situation in Gaza is much worse than she had anticipated. 'Its been quite shocking. I've been told that it's much worse now, because the population is really on its last limit,' she said. 'We have drones over our heads every day and it gets honestly unbearable sometimes, because it's really loud. 'It's really warm at the moment so you kind of want to keep the windows open and you can't, it gets really stressful. 'I can't keep track of time, because I don't even know what day it is.' Dr Roggio described hearing 'massive blast noises' on Tuesday morning after an Israeli drone strike hit the area. 'Yesterday morning I guess that we were bombed early in the morning. We were sleeping at about 5.30am and the whole building shook,' she said. 'We heard this massive blast noise and we all went out and we had jets flying over our heads and dropping bombs in the area that is very near where we are.' Dr Roggio, who has been working 12-hour shifts at Nasser hospital treating 10 to 12 people every day, described working with severely malnourished patients and having limited antibiotics. 'All the patients we treat are severely malnourished and this is a problem for us plastic surgeons, because all the wounds are not going to heal,' she said. 'If the patient is not on adequate nutrition, the infection rate is really high.' She also described the challenges of working with limited antibiotics. 'They are essentially antibiotics that we give to our patients in the UK at the induction of surgical procedures,' she said. 'But here these antibiotics are used to treat severe infection, and these are all wounds that are highly contaminated because they are from blast injuries. 'We are treating things that in the UK would be absolutely healed in one week but here it's taking forever.' Dr Roggio commended the resilience of local medical staff who have been operating in such severe circumstances for the last 18 months. 'I'm absolutely shocked to see how the local team is coping with this situation that has been going on for a very long time,' she said. 'Consider that they come every day from their accommodation, which means tents, where they had to live for the last few months. 'They have been forced to leave their houses and take their belongings. 'They don't lose energy. They come here every day. They're super polite. They even bring us presents and food, which is absolutely shocking, because they have literally nothing. They don't even have water.' The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, a third of whom are believed to still be alive. In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Leader Live
22-05-2025
- Health
- Leader Live
UK surgeon treating patients in Gaza warzone says population ‘at its last limit'
Dr Tiziana Roggio, an Italian plastic surgeon based at St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London, first arrived in Gaza on May 12 alongside a team of four other London-based doctors. Dr Roggio is volunteering for a month at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, tending to patients with blast injuries and burns with limited medical supplies. Over recent days, strikes have pounded areas across Gaza and Israel has issued evacuation orders for Khan Younis. Dr Roggio said Nasser hospital is just 1.5km (0.9 miles) away from the declared red zone and fears what will happen to patients if the hospital has to be evacuated. 'If this hospital shuts down, loads of patients will die because they won't have anywhere to go,' Dr Roggio told the PA news agency from the operating theatre in Nasser hospital. 'This is the biggest hospital in Khan Younis and has a large volume of patients, and has ICU facilities, oxygen generators, has got scans and operating rooms that can accommodate big surgical procedures like vascular surgery. 'If this hospital closes, the only hospitals remaining will be the tent hospitals. 'Although these hospitals are functional, they don't have facilities that can support ICU patients or complex surgical procedures.' Dr Roggio, who travelled from London to Gaza with a humanitarian charity called International Disaster & Emergency Aid with Long-term Support (Ideals), said the situation in Gaza is much worse than she had anticipated. 'Its been quite shocking. I've been told that it's much worse now, because the population is really on its last limit,' she said. 'We have drones over our heads every day and it gets honestly unbearable sometimes, because it's really loud. 'It's really warm at the moment so you kind of want to keep the windows open and you can't, it gets really stressful. 'I can't keep track of time, because I don't even know what day it is.' Dr Roggio described hearing 'massive blast noises' on Tuesday morning after an Israeli drone strike hit the area. 'Yesterday morning I guess that we were bombed early in the morning. We were sleeping at about 5.30am and the whole building shook,' she said. 'We heard this massive blast noise and we all went out and we had jets flying over our heads and dropping bombs in the area that is very near where we are.' Dr Roggio, who has been working 12-hour shifts at Nasser hospital treating 10 to 12 people every day, described working with severely malnourished patients and having limited antibiotics. 'All the patients we treat are severely malnourished and this is a problem for us plastic surgeons, because all the wounds are not going to heal,' she said. 'If the patient is not on adequate nutrition, the infection rate is really high.' She also described the challenges of working with limited antibiotics. 'They are essentially antibiotics that we give to our patients in the UK at the induction of surgical procedures,' she said. 'But here these antibiotics are used to treat severe infection, and these are all wounds that are highly contaminated because they are from blast injuries. 'We are treating things that in the UK would be absolutely healed in one week but here it's taking forever.' Dr Roggio commended the resilience of local medical staff who have been operating in such severe circumstances for the last 18 months. 'I'm absolutely shocked to see how the local team is coping with this situation that has been going on for a very long time,' she said. 'Consider that they come every day from their accommodation, which means tents, where they had to live for the last few months. 'They have been forced to leave their houses and take their belongings. 'They don't lose energy. They come here every day. They're super polite. They even bring us presents and food, which is absolutely shocking, because they have literally nothing. They don't even have water.' The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on October 7 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 251. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages, a third of whom are believed to still be alive. In response, Israel launched an offensive that has killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's health ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians. The Ideals JustGiving donations page can be found at:
