The Minister for Health has today secured the agreement of the Government for Ireland to evacuate a number of sick children from Gaza for treatment and care here.
Minister Stephen Donnelly brought the proposal in response to the World Health Organisation (WHO) request to address the current health needs of people from Gaza.
Minister Donnelly and his officials have spent months working on the proposal alongside medical doctors, the Irish Red Cross (IRC) and other Government Departments including the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Social Protection. The Health Service Executive (HSE) will act in a central coordination role across all required services/service providers on arrival and travel to hospital or accommodation as appropriate.
Minister Donnelly said:
“I really want to thank the nurses, the doctors, the Irish Red Cross and all who have been involved in ensuring Ireland steps up to this need. This is a modest but important step given the scale of the horrific conflict by the Israeli military forces. The continued and deliberate attacks on civilians and on healthcare facilities are wrong and should stop.”
It is estimated that Ireland will receive up to 30 paediatric patients from Gaza in 2024. The health needs are categorised under cancer, haemodialysis and patients with other severe medical conditions (except for orthopaedics to ensure there is no impact on HSE efforts to increase the number of procedures being carried out in this speciality). Ireland will be opting in on a case-by-case basis for each child who requires treatment, subject to the necessary capacity being available at that time
Under this initiative the children will travel with a carer, who will be accommodated in accommodation managed by the IRC. This includes accommodation owned by healthcare workers as well as accommodation being provided via the IRC. The care package being provided includes caseworker and translation services to ensure that patients and their carers are well looked after and have assistance in accessing all services as needed. In addition, the HSE will provide appropriate psycho-social assessment for both patients and carers.
All patients and carers are required to get health screening prior to travel.
Minister Donnelly added:
“The loss of life in this conflict is devastating, particularly the loss of life of civilian men, women and children. Our health service will work with colleagues across Government, across the EU and with the WHO to provide medical evacuation and treatment to those impacted.”
