HH Sheikh Hamad Hospital in Gaza Launches Electronic Limbs Project

HH Sheikh Hamad Hospital in Gaza

HH Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics in Gaza, which is funded by Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD), announced the launch of the electronic upper limb fitting for children and young people of Gaza with the aim of helping them lead their normal lives and integrate into the community.

Chairman of Board of Directors of the Hospital and QFFD Representative Sultan bin Ahmed Al Asiri, said the project to install the upper electronic limbs is the first of its kind in Palestine and the Middle East. It comes within the vision of QFFD in support of the Palestinians and to complement the journey of giving.

He added during a press conference held at the hospital premises, "The project includes the installation of advanced upper prosthetic limbs that are directly controlled through nerves. This project targets forty amputees in the Gaza Strip, in two phases." He continued, "The first phase of the project was implemented during the current visit of the Qatari medical delegation and included the installation of upper prosthetic limbs for 20 amputees, while work will be done on the second phase in a subsequent visit to the delegation during the current year." For his part, Dr. Khaled Abdel Hadi, head of the Qatari medical delegation and head of the Audiology and Balance Unit at Hamad Medical Corporation, said that specialized medical teams made great efforts to achieve a brilliant achievement that usually requires months of work in just five days, which enabled twenty young men and children to obtain prosthetic limbs to help them to complete the journey of life.

In his speech, he stressed that the hospital is preparing, during the next few months, to complete cochlear implants for children of Gaza with hearing disabilities, with funding from the Qatari Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. All cochlear implants were successful, the last of which was made last October, which included fifty children. It comes as a continuation of the great efforts made by the State of Qatar to support the Palestinians in all fields, praising the role of HH Sheikh Hamad Hospital in Gaza and its distinguished medical and rehabilitation services.

Since its operation in April 2019, Hamad Hospital in Gaza has provided services to more than 14,000 patients and people with disabilities through its three main departments: the Prosthetics Department, the Audiology and Balance Unit and the Medical Rehabilitation Unit. The Hospitals Prosthetics Department has installed 263 lower limbs, 65 upper limbs, 428 peripheral devices and 162 orthopedic devices.

The Medical Rehabilitation Unit received more than 8,000 beneficiaries in inpatient sections, day-care and outpatient sections, and provided its services through various comprehensive rehabilitation,physiotherapy and occupational therapy units, speech and swallowing, while the Audiology and Balance Unit provided comprehensive services to more than 6,000 beneficiaries.

(QNA)