Embattled and embittered, Syrians suffer from poor medical care

Embattled and embittered, Syrians suffer from poor medical care
Feature: Syria's once comprehensive health system has been virtually destroyed, and doctors struggle to provide the most basic level of treatment.
4 min read
11 May, 2015
Many in Syria have suffered from the lack of effective medical care [AFP]

"I heard the sound of the saw cutting off my feet, I screamed in pain and I passed out."

Like many other Syrians, Omar has paid the price for the virtual collapse of the healthcare system across much of Syria, struggling to cope under the impact of war and blockades.


A young man in his 20s, Omar suffers from nightmares after his feet were amputated in a field hospital in Aleppo, north of Syria, less than a year ago.


Omar recounted the details of that life-changing day as if it was yesterday: "I could feel everything that was happening around me. The floor was red from blood. There were five wounded people in the same room. Three medics were trying to stop my bleeding with gauze. I was begging them to stop the pain and they responded 'God willing'."

I was begging them to stop the pain and they responded "God willing".

"The doctor approached me and looked into my eyes and said: 'We are very sorry, we have to amputate your feet otherwise your life will be at risk. You have to be strong and bear the pain. Promise me that you will'." Omar said.


A missile injured Omar's feet, and he was taken to a field hospital that lacked many essential surgical tools, equipment and sedatives. The only surgeon in the hospital took the decision to amputate to save the young man's life.

"Because there isn't a real hospital, I now don't have feet. I dream of having prosthetic feet and being able to do a job," said Omar.

Shortages of everything

The lack of medical care in Syria denies many patients essential medicine and treatments, and this has caused irreversible damage to many.

Abdul Rahim al-Abdu, a doctor in Aleppo said that the treatment methods used in clinics and medical centres was rudimentary due to a lack of equipment and electricity.


"Thousands of people die when they could have been saved if the situation was better," said Abdu, adding: "as doctors, we know that we can save more lives if we had more equipment. This puts pressure and responsibility on us."


He said "My only consolation is that I'm doing the best I can and I rely on the positive stories to be able to carry on."


One of those positive stories was a man in his 60s whose heart had stopped. He was revived using basic methods. "We made the decision to take turns in operating a hand held ventilator that would pump air into his lungs, and we continued to do so for three days until he regained consciousness," Abdu said. "It was like a miracle because we were beginning to lose hope."


Abdullah, a Syrian cancer patient, was forced to go to Turkey to seek treatment as he was not able to receive the right medical care in Syria. He said the lack of specialist facilities in Syria led to his tumour being discovered late, which made treatment more difficult.


Abdullah spent six months going from one hospital to another in Latakia and Damascus in search for treatment that was only available in government hospitals.

"The last time my health deteriorated, I had to stay in hospital for 15 days," he said. "When I left I went to my village. I was held at one of the military checkpoint on the way because of my long hair and beard and I was beaten because they thought I was a former prisoner."

The clinic did not have any blood bags and going to the hospital in the city at night is suicide.
-Aisha.

"They did not stop beating me until they were sure that I had been discharged from hospital, he added. "After that incident I came to Turkey and here I receive free treatment, but it's too late now."


Another victim of the lack of adequate medical facilities is Aisha, who went into early labour and started to bleed severely. The only place she could go for medical care was the local town clinic.


"The clinic did not have any blood bags and going to the hospital in the city at night is suicide, so the doctor decided to give me blood from some volunteers who share my blood type," she said. "That is what saved my life at the time, but I contracted hepatitis from one of the volunteers and my life is threatened once again."

The Syrian American Medical Society stated in its latest report that blood transfusions played a central role in a variety of life-saving medical interventions in everything from trauma cases to complications from childbirth and childhood anemia.

The society added that unfortunately, blood transfusions were especially difficult to give in all of the besieged areas of Syria.

It added that one challenge to providing blood transfusions was the lack of electricity, as hospitals are reliant on generators for electricity and fuel to run the generators was limited, making safe storage of blood plasma impossible. Instead, the report said, doctors keep lists of potential blood donors nearby and call them in to donate directly when a transfusion is needed. Sometimes doctors themselves would donate blood to save a patient.


This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.

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