On Monday 9th December 2024, Irish Confrère Donnacha Fahy KHS had the privilege to visit the offices of Bethlehem Care and Hospice Trust, adjacent to St. Catherine’s Parish Church, and meet with the Palliative Care Team.
This small team of dedicated health care professionals provide a unique medical care service, delivering personalised palliative care treatment to people living with terminal illness and support to their families in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
It is the only Palliative Care Unit in operation so its services are very much in demand.
The Team consists of 7 persons
- Rasha Abdallah Shamieh, CEO
- Tamer Jamal Jafar, Nurse Coordinator
- Helen Robert Ghannam, Staff Nurse
- Mohamad Wissam Alhasanat, Staff Nurse
- Hidaya Mohamad Hmidan, Practical Nurse
- Fawaz Nader Bannoura, Volunteer Practical Nurse
- Rand Samer Qabar, Part-Timer Physical Therapist
The teams breaks up into 2 units. Three in each unit and each unit will do 3 calls each per day. They have a total of 96 patients to attend to. So each week they will call to between 30 and 40 patients
The Team has been operational since July 2023 . To date, they have made 1900 calls.
Donnacha accompanied one of the Teams to the private homes of patients in need of urgent specialist care. Donnacha says:
“It was a very humbling and spiritual experience, to witness the care given and gratitude of those in receipt. The service provided by the Bethlehem Care and Hospice Trust is truly God sent. At every house the unit call to, the family of each patient is hugely appreciative of the units services and healthcare provision. They can’t thank them enough. The care the Team give is second to none, especially when they have difficulty getting the proper medication and supplies. I was very privileged to be brought around and welcomed to peoples’ houses, especially under trying circumstances. But that is the nature of the people of Bethlehem“.
The Bethlehem Care and Hospice Trust is operated as a separate independent charity and funded solely by generous donations. Further details on their website:
https://bethlehemcareandhospicetrust.org/