JERUSALEM, Saturday, December 01, 2018 (WAFA) - Approval rate in October for Palestinians injured in demonstrations near the Gaza fence with Israel to leave Gaza through Erez/Beit Hanoun crossing to get medical care in Jerusalem, West Bank or Israeli hospitals was significantly lower than the month’s overall approval rate with only 8 of 52 (15%) of applications were approved; 10 (19%) denied; and 34 (65%) delayed, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its monthly report on Health Access: Barriers for Patients in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
It said that 52 applications (1.8% of the total) in October were for permits for those injured during demonstrations needing referral outside Gaza via Erez/Beit Hanoun.
As of 31 October, there had been 335 applications to Israeli authorities by those injured in demonstrations to exit Gaza via Erez crossing to access healthcare. Of those applications, 74 (22%) were approved, 117 (33%) were denied and 144 (43%) were delayed.
In general, said the WHO report, 63%, or 1,798 (930 male; 868 female), of the 2,851 applications to cross Erez in October were approved. Over a third (36%) of permits approved were for children under age of 18 and almost a fifth (19%) were for people over 60 years of age.
It said that 188 patient applications (122 male; 66 female), or 7% of the total, were denied permission to cross Erez for health care in October. Those denied included 10 children under the age of 18 years and 17 patients aged 60 years or older. More than 95% of denied permit applications were for appointments at hospitals in East Jerusalem or the West Bank.
In addition, 865 patient applications (547 male; 318 female), or 30% of the total, were delayed access to care, receiving no definitive response to their application by the date of their hospital appointment. Of these, 201 applications were for children under the age of 18 and 81 applications were for patients aged 60 years or older.
In October, two male patients were called for security interrogation at Erez crossing as a prerequisite to travel for health care: a 40-year-old referred for orthopedics and a 30-year-old referred for ophthalmology. Neither was approved a permit to exit Gaza.
There were 3,285 permit applications to Israeli authorities to cross Erez to accompany patients. These applications include parents or other companions applying to accompany children. Only one companion is permitted to accompany each Gaza patient and permits are conditional on security clearance.
A total of 1,564 (48%) patient companion applications were approved, 295 applications (9%) were denied and the remaining 1,426 (43%) were delayed, receiving no definitive response by the time of the patient’s hospital appointment.
Permit applications for the top five specialties accounted for three-fifths (58%) of referrals: oncology (23%); orthopedics (9%); cardiology (9%); pediatrics (9%); and hematology (8%). The remaining 42% of referrals were for 25 other specialties.
M.K.
