PalMed Academy Launches GEM Initiative to Rebuild Medical Education in Gaza
In a groundbreaking move to address the disruption caused by the destruction of health and educational institutions in Gaza, PalMed Academy, an affiliate of PalMed Europe, has officially launched the Gaza Educate Medics (GEM) initiative.
PalMed Academy, the Palestinian doctors association in Europe, has been at the forefront of efforts to resume the education of 2500 medical students in Gaza. The initiative was unveiled during a preliminary public meeting on March 9, 2024, attended by distinguished academics, consultants, and medical professionals.
Chaired by Professor Mahmoud Loubani, the meeting featured a presentation by Dr. Lubna Saghir, Consultant in family medicine, introducing the concept of GEM. The initiative aims to establish a virtual medical college, leveraging the expertise of volunteering academics and consultants worldwide to educate Gaza’s medical students. This approach allows students to follow their own syllabus and graduate from their respective colleges, preserving the institutions’ accreditation.
Dr. Riyad Masharqa, Consultant plastic surgeon and Chair of PalMed Europe, outlined the ambitious goals of PalMed and the Academy in supporting this crucial project. The operational structure of GEM, as explained by Professor Loubani, includes various committees to facilitate the implementation of the initiative. Attendees were invited to enroll in committees aligning with their expertise.
The second half of the meeting saw lively discussions and comments from professionals across America, Europe, Palestine, Qatar, Egypt, Turkey, and the UK. Participants from the International Conference for Rebuilding Health Care in Gaza, including Professor Omar Lattuf and Professor Ruba Ali Fahmi, expressed unanimous support for the GEM initiative.
Delegates from Gaza’s medical colleges, as well as representatives from Aberdeen in Scotland, London, and Ireland, were in attendance. The GEM initiative received enthusiastic approval from all delegates, with Professor Lattuf and Professor Ruba Ali pledging their full support.
Forms for registering in GEM committees have been distributed to interested parties, and a brief outline of the initiative’s structure, along with a registration form, is available for those looking to contribute. The PalMed Academy encourages interested individuals to join before the first follow-up meeting in six weeks.
Dr. Bashier Oudeh, Secretary of PalMed Academy, stated, “We are confident there will be a great number of eminent volunteers coming forward as we extend our invitation to colleagues all over the world.”
For more information, please contact PalMed Academy through email at chair@palmedacademy.com
PalMed Europe and David Nott Foundation Doctors upskilling to help Gaza( HEST Course)
Doctors from around the world are upskilling to save the lives of those injured in the conflict in Gaza on a special course organised by PalMed Uk, led by David Nott Foundation team and hosted by the University of Bolton. The PalMed train doctors to go and work in Gaza for four days of training, led by the David Nott Foundation.
PalMed identified the doctors, whilst the foundation provided the training, which will prepare the doctors to head to the Gaza strip in Palestine to assist with saving the lives of thousands of injured civilians.
During the course, doctors from different countries and hospitals learn every field of trauma surgery including neuro, cardiovascular, abdominal, paediatric, obstetrics and gynaecology and anaesthesia, using cutting-edge teaching tools that were made by designers, in collaboration with the charity’s co-founder, renowned war surgeon Professor David Nott.
Doctors practice their techniques on Heston, a one-of-a-kind human war wound simulator, 3D-printed kidneys, silicone hearts, blood vessels, tracheas, and additional teaching models.
The training demonstrates how to deal with trauma caused in war zones, which can include anything from bomb blast and gunshot wounds to severe crush injuries caused by collapsing buildings.
One of the reasons behind the upskilling of doctors is that many are specialised doctors not equipped with dealing with the type of injuries patients may have in a war zone.
On Friday (February 2) 35 surgeons were being trained to offer their services to charities that are going into Gaza, and six anaesthetists.
More than 27,000 people have been killed and 66,000 wounded by Israel’s invasion in Gaza, the Palestinian health ministry said on Thursday.
Dr Riyadh Almasharqah: Plastic surgeon and CEO of PalMed Europe, has worked in various regional plastic surgery and burn units across the UK and abroad.
Dr Almasharqah’s says this course is vital and need more urgent than ever.
He said: “We are grateful to the people of Bolton, the University of Bolton, and the whole community who offered great support to this course. “This is the second course, with the first course being in December. and many people from the first course are already in Gaza and they provided a lot of help there. and they’re feedback about the information they got from this course has been great. So, this encouraged us to do the second course, and hopefully we will continue to do that in the future.
“It’s a really unique course. As a doctor, I have attended many courses before, but this is really structured and organised to cover all emergency aspects in every speciality’’.
“What we can see from what is happening in Gaza is that the magnitude of the need is so high. It’s beyond imagination, people are suffering a lot. The injured people are suffering, and so are the people who are displaced because they are living in shelters without food unfortunately, and no electricity, no water, and of course all of the health sector has collapsed, and kids are suffering from malnutrition, and even the elderly people’’.
“According to estimations, there are more than 40,000 women who are pregnant about to deliver and there are no proper facilities for any doctors to do any antenatal care. And for this purpose, we managed to expand a small hospital in north Rafah in Palestine. In addition to other work we did like sending the delegations and doing a mobile clinic for the displaced people.”
Chief operating officer of The David Nott Foundation Tim Law said:
“As a charity, we were about to go to Gaza in October when the news obviously broke on October 7, and the whole world has seen what’s happened since then. “But we are keen to continue to support the Palestinian people, as we are any person that is affected by conflict or other disasters.”
Tim From David Nott Foundation said: “We train medical professionals so that they can operate effectively in war zones and help patient outcomes – that is the job of our charity. “Now, if you think about most surgery, it can be very specific. So, you might train as a cardiovascular surgeon, and all you do is work on the heart and that system. But, when it comes to war you might find that you’re the only surgeon in the hospital, and there are people presenting with multiple wounds, blasts fragmentation, or all sorts of things like that, and our job is to basically help surgeons who are perhaps quite specialised, become generalists and are then able to deal with the challenges that these sort of environments present. We have some of our doctors who are on the faculty who have travelled to Gaza, who said that the people that don’t really have this grasp of the whole system of surgery are not as well able to meet the challenges that are presented to them, so in many ways, we are certain that this is the best training that you can get. And we feel that we’re backed up in that with the amount of demand there is for our courses.”
Tim added: “Many of our faculty are ex-military, so they’ve got experience of Iraq, Afghanistan, and places like that, so they know what it’s like to be in places where resources that you would have in an NHS hospital in the UK aren’t available to you.
In December, other facilities in Bolton were used by the foundation and PalMed to upskill 42 doctors, many of whom already in Gaza or planning to travel to Palestine to offer their help.
The foundation also delivered a surgical training course in Ramallah, Palestine, last July to empower doctors from across the region, and the team were due to train in Gaza in October before the war started.
Hostile Environment Surgical and Anaesthetic Training (HEST)
Surgeons and anaesthetists rapidly trained to treat trauma injuries in Gaza
PalMed UK in collaboration with the David Nott Foundation run a remarkable four-day Hostile Environment Surgical Training (HEST) course, surgeons and anaesthetists from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Qatar gathered in Bolton to learn how to treat trauma injuries in the Gaza Strip.
Organised in two weeks in collaboration with Palmed UK, 42 doctors headed for the Middle East were trained to treat complex trauma injuries incurred in the Israel-Gaza conflict. This course not only marks a significant step towards preparing medical professionals for future missions in Palestine but also reflects a shared commitment to saving lives in conflict zones.
Riyadh Al Masharqa, Plastic surgeon and CO for PalMed Europe saied:
“Thank you to the David Nott Foundation. Without them, this training would not have been possible. Together, we are organising this course to assist the people in the Gaza Strip once it is safe and travel becomes feasible. The response from numerous doctors expressing their desire to help has been overwhelming, and we are hopeful to conduct a second course in the coming weeks.”
Addressing urgent medical needs in Gaza, the course was organised in response to the pressing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Palestine. According to on-the-ground partners, medical professionals are stretched to their limits and hospitals are overwhelmed.
The group included specialists in orthopaedic surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatric anaesthesia, and general surgery. Some brought valuable, first-hand experience from regions affected by conflict, like Afghanistan and Syria, while others joined to grow their understanding of how to treat war wounds before heading on mission.
Dr Iman Al Mabhooh, Obstetrician and Gynaecologist consultant.
“I’m excited about expanding my skill set beyond obstetrics and gynaecology to acquire new capabilities that will benefit mothers and their infants in Gaza and the West Bank. I recognize the desperate need for assistance in this region. This course is unique as it combines obstetrics and gynaecology with trauma care. This training aims to address complex challenges comprehensively and I look forward to it.”
Our surgical HEST and anaesthesia courses were held simultaneously, demonstrating our commitment to enhancing the skills of all those striving to preserve life in the operating theatre.
Dr Douglas Philpott, Anaesthetist
“What has been great about this course is meeting people that have experienced things in the field. From the anaesthetics point of view, it’s been helpful to learn how they deal with limited resources and supplies, and we have been using airway mannequins and practicing with video scopes.”
As war continues to rage, we are working on a second surgical training course with the goal of upskilling even more frontline medical professionals. We won’t stop empowering doctors with the knowledge needed to save lives and limbs against the odds.
We Palmed Europe and UK expressing gratitude to the David Nott Foundation for orchestrating this exceptional course. We eagerly anticipate the next installment.
