Trauma is every day here, says UK nurse in Gaza

A nurse deployed in the Gaza Strip as part of the government's humanitarian response to the Israel-Gaza war described treating patients with "substantial" trauma.

Mandy Blackman usually works at Kettering General Hospital in Northamptonshire, but is currently the nurse-in-charge of a field hospital in al-Mawasi run by the charity UK-Med.

She said the hospital included "everyday things" such as GP services, an operating theatre and maternity care, but also dealt with emergency incidents.

"We have mass casualty incidents where we receive a number of patients in a very short space of time; not long ago we had about 34 people come in at 23:30 at night," she said.

"A lot of families were separated, so we had a lot of children here whose parents or surviving members of their family had gone to [another] hospital," Ms Blackman added.

"We spent a good week trying to reunite families, so that was particularly pleasing after something so horrific had happened to them."

This is her third deployment to the Gaza Strip and she said she felt "lucky" her employer allowed her to volunteer as "there is a need".

"I am able to come and therefore I choose to come," she said.

"I don't think you'd be human if you weren't affected by the cases that came in," she added.

"At home, yes, I do see trauma, but it's not on the same level that I see here, where it's pretty much every day."

Ms Blackman added that in al-Mawasi she was treating patients who had experienced significant weight loss.

"There's evident malnutrition in children, so we do our best to get them on a targeted food programme.

"But it's also just trying to giving people some dignity while they are receiving the care here."

The nurse has previously volunteered with UK-Med to care for patients with Ebola and diphtheria around the world.

"My family have their concerns, because of what you see on the news," she said.

"I have to reassure them that if something has happened that it isn't where we are.

"I do everything I can to keep myself safe, and my family say they are proud of me, which is lovely."

She said the field hospital in al-Mawasi was situated in a locked compound which was guarded and there were safe places for staff and patients to go if necessary.

"People ask me 'does it make you cross when you come back [to England] and people are always demanding things?', but not really.

"Actually, we should all have the right to fresh water, healthcare and somewhere to live.

"It's trying to ensure people can access the healthcare they so desperately need," she said.

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