Palestinian physicians marvel at CT scanners in Haifa

Delegation of Palestinian doctors and medical technicians will study at Carmel Medical Center; 'Peace must begin among us,' says Dr. Ahmed Said.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Cutting edge surgery 521 (photo credit: University of Washington)
Cutting edge surgery 521
(photo credit: University of Washington)
A delegation of senior physicians and medical technicians from the Palestinian Authority arrived this week for a study program at the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa.
“Peace must begin among us,” said Dr. Ahmed Said from the Ramallah Central Hospital.
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He and radiologist Nasser Id Issa led the large delegation, which was not dissuaded by Palestinian demonstrators marking Nakba Day.
The members of the delegation received special transit documents from the Israeli- Palestinian coordination office. Palestinian physicians have come to study at Carmel before, such as those from Al- Makassed Hospital in east Jerusalem, but they haven’t come from Palestinian Authority hospitals, said Dr. Nati Peled, who hosted the group.
As part of the program, Peled, who heads the hospital’s imaging center, showed them the 256-slice computerized tomography scanner.
Palestinian hospitals have recently received CT scanners purchased through donations, but until now they found no suitable place to train radiologists and technicians.
The delegation was especially interested in performing scans and taking samples from small blood vessels less than a millimeter in diameter using the Carmel CT.
Marzouk Harb, a Carmel technician for 26 years, from Beit Jann, was among the main instructors of the group.
“It’s a lot of fun for me to do this, as Carmel is among the leaders in using this technology, and Arabs and Jews come here to learn from us.”
Chief hospital technician Menahem Pe’er said it was clear that the PA delegation “clearly wanted to learn and advance, and leave politics aside.”
Said noted the differences between the levels of medical sophistication at Carmel and the Palestinian hospitals were “like night and day,” adding that he would like to return for more learning programs.
“Real peace between nations is accomplished by people in the field,” he said, shaking the Israelis’ hands.