Health

Developing Critical Services at Al Makassed Hospital in East Jerusalem

Al Makassed Charitable Hospital is the largest Arab hospital in East Jerusalem, with 250 beds and 80 ICU beds (including 16 paediatric beds).

Al Makassed Charitable Hospital is the largest Arab hospital in East Jerusalem, with 250 beds and 80 ICU beds (including 16 paediatric beds). It is also the main tertiary referral centre for the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as well as the main teaching hospital for undergraduate medical students and post-graduate residency training in 13 specialities. For Al Makassed to perform the necessary procedures for its paediatric patients, additional specialised equipment was urgently needed. This two-stage project completed at the end of 2022, extending the hospital’s Paediatric Intensive Care Unit services and the Paediatric Open Heart Surgery Department – to increase capacity and improve specialized paediatric unit services.

The Paediatric Open Heart surgery department (POH), has been supported by WA since its establishment in 2003 - in which time it has expanded from 4 beds to 16 with a CCU (Cardiac Care Unit) and an ICU. The POH has an occupancy rate of between 100-120%, and delays in patient admission have exceeded 50 patients per month due to a lack of key equipment such as ventilators.

In stage 1 the project increased the capacity of the Paediatric Intensive Care unit through the provision of two new urgently needed ventilators; including a new Nava ventilator designed to treat patients requiring long-term respiratory assistance in much shorter periods of time. The remaining equipment soon followed, including: the second paediatric ventilator, syringe pumps, portable digital x-ray machine, TEE transducers, and 10 paediatric ICU beds. We were also able to improve the space for parents and guardians with new furniture and kitchen equipment – for some respite when they are away from their child’s bedside. The space now comfortably supports 15 parents each day.

During stage 2 of this project at Al Makassed, the Paediatrics Open Heart (POH) surgery department urgently requested a digital ultrasound system. In addition, the unit required a Synergy UHD4 4K camera system, as well as a range of catheterisation lab equipment. All equipment is in place and fully functional, and staff have received the training to use it to its fully capacity!