Director of the Surgical Medical Rescue Center in Yarmouk Camp for Palestinian Refugees, Riyadh Idris, has called on international medical agencies to witness the camp’s status after recently discontinuing all aid to the area, warning of deteriorating living and humanitarian conditions.
Idris reported to Zaman al-Wasl that medical services in Yarmouk are dangerously limited, as most doctors fled the area four months ago following the Islamic State’s (ISIS) invasion of the camp.
The head doctor mentioned that he was the only surgeon remaining insinde the camp, singlehandedly founding the Surgical Medical Rescuing Center. The majority of hospitals and medical centers in Yarmouk are without certified doctors, with services limited to first aid.
The center, which comprises of an operating room, 10 beds, and an intensive care unit, suffers from a shortage of medicine and equipment, as well as the fuel needed to run the center’s generators. Along with Idris, a team including a dentist and 10 nurses are responsible for providing free 24-hour medical services to almost 20,000 people who remain under siege.
Idris mentioned that their center is the only surgical center in Yarmouk camp, confirming that they have not received any support from any organization since the center’s founding. He added that the situation was further complicated by the spread of disease and an increase in the number of wounded because of shelling. Idris mentioned that in July alone, the center received around 2,700 medical cases, 510 required operations, 1,900 cases of infection, and 200 cases of typhoid.
Most medical staff from other centers in southern Damascus, like Yarmouk, Esali and Tadamoun, have escaped toward the surrounding towns currently observing a truce, such as Yalda, Babila and Beit Saham.
