News from Ideals

Our main objective in the current emergency was to get surgical teams and life-saving equipment/supplies into Gaza as soon as possible.

Our first team worked at the European Gaza hospital, Khan Younis, for two weeks from 27th December 2023, our second team returned from the same hospital a fortnight ago, and our third team travel out on Sunday 25th February.

We have been able to support local colleagues, exhausted and fearful for their families, with the emergency surgical management of survivors of major trauma (predominantly blast and crush injuries), and the subsequent management of patients with complex limb injuries.

So many of these patients have lost family members and have devastating, disabling wounds, requiring multiple operations and lifelong rehabilitation.

The latest phase of our health care programme supporting Syrian refugees in the south of Lebanon began in January 2021 and is running smoothly; with our local partner, Blue Mission, delivering essential primary health care, reproductive and mental health services for 25,000 Syrian refugees and other vulnerable communities (Palestinian refugees and poor Lebanese families) in Saida and Tyre.

It is with great sadness to record the passing of IDEALS’ founding Chairman, John Patrick Beavis

After four years of preparation, the first Primary Trauma Care course for doctors from the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (FATA) in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan (NWFP) will take place in Peshawar on 3rd and 4th December 2007. The delegates will be brought in from the tribal areas and a full PTC training will be given thus emulating the work that began in Peshawar in 2003 and has since spread around the rest of Pakistan.

Following a request for the construction of a water tower in a Tangalle school, funds were sought and a contribution of 1250 was given towards the construction by "The Drinking FountainAssociation". IDEALS added 1300 to this amount thus allowing the work to start.

Burns injuries are the commonest cause of death in children throughout the world and early correct treatment will alleviate the suffering and prevent death in many patients. Sadly, many doctors are not properly trained in simple but effective methods of treating burns. IDEALS is, therefore, proud to have supported Professor Shariq Ali, Director of the Burns Unit at Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi in his quest to develop high standards of treatment in Pakistan and throughout the world.

After many months of repeated assessment of the house designs, ERRA (Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority), has approved the construction of the new Bedadi Village in North West Pakistan. The villagers have now been living in tents since October 2005 and they greeted the news that we are due to start construction with great joy.

In the summer of this year IDEALS was alerted by Dr Judith Darmandy and Sally Fitzharris to the plight of three young Gaza amputees. Although they had undergone some rehabilitation treatment in Israel they were now back in Gaza and their follow up treatment is now very uncertain.

Based on WHO/UNICEF guidelines the survey was conducted on 21st and 22nd May 2007, assessing all children at the Bedadi site under the age of 12 years.

The small town of Tangalle, in southern Sri Lanka, was badly damaged by the Tsunami of December 26th 2004. As well as the loss of life and injuries there was considerable damage to the infrastructure.

After months of preparation and despite delays in local administrative planning, IDEALS, with local partner CAMP, has appointed a site engineer and work has commenced on construction of a village to house families left destitute and homeless after the earthquake of October 2005. They have spent this time living in tents; initially at the original site and then on land purchased for them by IDEALS.

On December 4th 2007, 21 doctors from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) attended a Primary Trauma Care (PTC) course at Gandhara University, Peshawar.

The first footings of Bedadi village houses have been dug and the walls are now beginning to rise above the ground. The villagers are full of hope for the future.

As a result of the comprehensive survey conducted at the Bedadi tented village site in NWFP, Pakistan last year we identified a number of children with significant health problems, including severe malnutrition, anaemia and visual impairment.

As well as the projects we are jointly implementing with our local partner in Pakistan, CAMP, we believe it is also very important to help build both administrative and technical capacity within CAMP.

Construction is now underway on 26 plots at the new Bedadi village with ten plots nearing completion. As much of the work as possible is being undertaken by residents of the village; from skilled joinery and masonery to basic labouring.

At a ceremony in Peshawar in November 2008, kits designed for the initial care of trauma victims in hospital were presented to representatives of the FATA agencies. The first FATA training courses for doctors in Primary Trauma Care (PTC) were in December 2007 and January 2008 when the feed back from the delegates emphasised that there was a severe shortage of basic equipment for treating trauma cases.

The Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) in the north west of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, has been a site of increasing violence. This situation has been met head on by IDEALS with the establishment of a training project in Primary Trauma Care (PTC).

Over 3 years after their homes were destroyed in the earthquake of October 2005 the villagers of Bedadi have at last moved into their new homes. There have been many difficulties to overcome. But despite the great delays, the village was finished to a very high standard of construction at the end of January 2009, a view that was recently echoed by a senior inspector from the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority.

Andy Ferguson the Technical Director has identified a need for the IDEALS to cooperate with the Al Asdiqaa Association (AAA) in order to assist with the care in the community of children with cerebral palsy and other neurological and musculoskeletal conditions.

After many months of negotiation a midwifery course entirely supported by IDEALS began in early April 2009. In FATA one in ten children die in infancy (UK=1/200) and one in two hundred mothers die in pregnancy or childbirth (UK=1/8,000). Current midwifery services are almost non existent.

The training of student midwives from the FATA and NWFP border regions began in April 2009 and progresses well, with the first exam results demonstrating a generally high level of performance. All 15 of our trainees have successfully negotiated the "basic sciences" and entered the clinical phase of their training.

In August 2009 IDEALS Trustees Sir Terence English and John Beavis visited Gaza on behalf of PTC UK and supported by Medical Aid for Palestine MAP. The purpose was to meet with members of the medical profession and assess whether PTC was suitable for the area. We were greeted with enthusiasm and as well as deciding that a system of PTC would be of great value we also decided that there was much else that IDEALS could do to support these highly professional people. The memories of the Sarajevo siege were revived as it became obvious that the severe plight of the Gazans was matched by their determination to "carry on regardless".

In Mid December 2009 we received an appeal from CAMP to support their work of running a HEALTH CENTRE in the Jalozai refugee camp, which provides comprehensive primary health care services for 17,500 people displaced by the ongoing conflict in FATA and NWFP.

IDEALS is very fortunate to have the voluntary services of Dr Andy Ferguson who combines his busy General Practioner work in Sheffield with world wide humanitarian assistance. Andy is qualified in Public Health and Family Medicine as well as holding the Diploma in Tropical Medicine.

On the 27th February 2010, Chile was hit by a massive earthquake, the 5th most violent ever recorded. The small coastal tourist town of Matanzas was devastated by the violent tremors and the subsequent tsunami

Chairman of IDEALS John Beavis was one of the runners up for “The Times” Sternberg Active Life Award given to individuals past normal retirement age who demonstrate very active lives.

Ably led by Richard Cruttenden a group of young men planned and executed a journey by Nano Cars from the Taj Mahal, Agra to Trafalgar Square. They braved the roads of northern India and then Iran before entering Turkey and then Europe via Greece.

IDEALS was approached by a third year medical student enquiring about the possibility of visiting Gaza on one of our routine visits. The student has an eclectic interest in medicine and was not simply interested in seeing the effects of war. He was able to accompany Dr Andy Ferguson and John Beavis in July 2011 and was present as arrangements were made for the charity's involvement in care for the chronically disabled.

The picture heading this article was painted by Mark a severely disabled 52 year old man. Despite being in a wheel chair and unable to speak he portrays his vibrant personality with the dynamic painting. He contributes much to the lives of those who know him --especially his family. Mark is fortunate to live in a country which expresses its civilisation by caring for him as well as possible. Unfortunately chronically disabled individuals or those with continuing disease are the hidden victims of war.

Over the past 12 months IDEALS have continued to develop its collaboration with other health organisations, with Mr Andrew Ferguson our Technical and Medical advisor utilising his experience to help manage CAMP’s health programme in Pakistan.

In Rafah, Southern Gaza on the Egyptian border a project of community Occupational Therapy was concluded with many good results.

For two years IDEALS has been planning Fellowships in Limb Reconstruction following severe injuries caused by either war or other effects.

The IDEALS team was the clinical arm of a combined project supported financially by HM Government Department and logistically managed by the charity Medical Aid for Palestinians.

A young Palestinian suffered a severe limb injury from an exploding shell and was admitted to Shiva Hospital. He had a wide open wound in the region of his hip and when the IDEALS visiting Limb Reconstruction Team reviewed him they gave the opinion that his limb could not be salvaged.

"The surgeons belong to the charity Ideals, and were sent to Gaza by Medical Aid for Palestinians to visit the main hospitals there to carry out assessments and to perform post-traumatic, reconstructive surgeries."

We have been awarded a second grant by the Tropical Health Education Trust (THET) to continue the work to help develop a specialist limb reconstruction service in Gaza.

I think it became very obvious in Bosnia. There was a negative aspect to the aid to Bosnia in that people would turn up, do their week or fortnight there and never go back again.