00:00And for more on the situation in Gaza, we can welcome Jay Matthews, who is an operating theatre practitioner with the medical humanitarian charity UK Med.
00:09He returned to Gaza earlier this month to work in the territory's hospitals, having previously spent five weeks there in early 2024.
00:17Good morning, Jay. Thank you for joining us. You're just back in Gaza a week or so now.
00:24Can you describe the situation there in the hospitals at the moment?
00:30Sure. So it's a lot worse than it was when I was here a year ago.
00:34The situation has become more dire. The area is much more crowded now.
00:41Supplies are much lower. So it's much more difficult to provide the aid that we'd like to to the people that are coming to see us.
00:50This, as a contrast from last year, I wasn't aware that it would get much worse, but it certainly has.
00:56And there's been practically no aid getting through to Gaza for the past two and a half months.
01:02And what from a medical point of view, what are the supplies that you've noticed have been most sorely missing in Gaza's health facilities?
01:12It's simple things, really simple consumables like gauze and swabs for operations, dressing and bandages for patients that are coming in with wounds that need changing.
01:25These sort of things are crucial to maintaining health care for people and they're sorely missed.
01:34And you as a health care professional, you don't always think about not having them.
01:38But here it's a real it's at the front of your mind every day.
01:41And you mentioned earlier that compared to your last time in Gaza last year, things are much worse now.
01:52What are the main differences that you've been noticing?
01:57A much higher volume of people coming through our doors.
02:01So we're seeing hundreds and hundreds of people every day through our facility, the UK Med Type 2 Hospital here.
02:12We're seeing worse injuries as well.
02:15So a lot of explosive and gunshot injuries, which is pretty troubling for us.
02:20And also the reduction in aid.
02:21So the fact that we do have a lot less equipment, a lot less consumables, it's making it very difficult to provide that humanitarian aid.
02:29So before we were seeing slightly less people and we were seeing we had a bit more in terms of reserves and humanitarian aid and equipment.
02:38And the war has, of course, produced a massive number of wounded to be treated, as you've alluded to there.
02:44But what about more mundane medical interventions, you know, which still continue during war?
02:51How have doctors and other medical workers been managing with those?
02:55So we have a public, a PHC, a public health centre here that sees up to around 800 people a day in providing different treatments and supporting people as best we can.
03:12You know, those are, like you say, the essential day to day health care needs that people require.
03:16I think there's been a real effort to make sure those needs are met as best they can be.
03:23Sometimes with restrictions, you have to be more creative with your management of patients and you have to change your guidelines.
03:31But I think on the whole, people have been really understanding here in Palestine.
03:39And witnesses from Gaza have described how it's almost impossible to access clean drinking water, for example, and other such things with the sanitary problems becoming really, really difficult.
03:56How has that impeded the work of doctors and nurses in hospitals?
04:00Yeah, it makes life incredibly difficult for everybody.
04:07When you're trying to keep patients clean and wounds clean and maintain health in terms of, like, drinking and eating, it's incredibly difficult to, when people don't have access to simple things like drinking water.
04:21It makes life incredibly difficult.
04:24We're very lucky that we have a good logistical team here and WASH team that really support us in making sure we meet the needs of the people that are coming in, in both their social values and their health care needs.
04:38But it's something, again, we have to be so mindful of every day about what we use and how we use it to make sure things stretch as far as possible.
04:47But we provide the health care that people need, you know, good health care that's needed here.
04:53And you have worked as a medical worker in other war and emergency zones.
04:57How does Gaza compare to those?
05:03Obviously, every location is different.
05:05Everywhere has its own problems and issues, but here it's not really comparable.
05:16The need is so high and the space is so small and it's just so very difficult.
05:26Yeah, it's probably the worst situation I've been in, in terms of places overseas, in terms of needs for people and the aid that we have to provide for those needs.
05:41And how are your Palestinian colleagues dealing with what is clearly a very trying situation?
05:46I think it's I don't know how to describe it, really, but they're just very impressive people.
05:57I don't know how they managed to still pick themselves up after being displaced so many times, after losing family and friends.
06:07And they still give their time and their efforts and resources to to help other people and to help those around them.
06:17Their generosity and kindness and work ethic is very humbling.
06:24And I feel very privileged to be here with them.
06:27I think they manage by knowing that, you know, helping others is the right thing to do and they do a fantastic job working against the hardships that are against them here.
06:40Thank you very much for that, Jim Matthews, who's working as an operating theatre practitioner in Gaza for the charity UK Made.
