Mairead Heaney and David Borshoff, both practicing anaesthetists, understand firsthand the critical importance of pain relief and anesthesia, especially for patients in care, as it aids in recovery and helps prevent the trauma often associated with surgery.
“We started a charity called Perth Doctors Medical Aid for Gaza over twelve months ago to provide urgent medical aid for children and their families in Gaza,” Mairead shared. “Both David and I are parents, but we are also specialist anaesthetists.”
“We spend our lives keeping our patients comfortable and pain-free. To hear that children are receiving surgery without pain relief – we cannot imagine the pain and trauma these children and families are going through,” Mairead said.
Mairead Heaney is a specialist paediatric anaesthetist. Born in Ireland, she moved to Perth with her husband to embark on her career and start a family. She has worked for over ten years at Perth Children’s Hospital. She has previously supported education campaigns around organ donation in Perth for children in critical care.
She is advocating for greater awareness of the conditions her colleagues in Gaza are working in, which have been described as ‘utter hell’.
“There are patients succumbing to injuries that would be treatable if there were a proper healthcare system, such as if patients had access to antibiotics,” Mairead explained. “Dr. Mohamad Mostafa, one of our colleagues, said that at times the most they can do is provide clean clothes to patients. There are no antibiotics or pain relief.”
Dr. David Borshoff, a cardiac anaesthetist, clinical consultant, and author of the Anaesthetic Crisis Manual, shared his perspective on the deepening humanitarian crisis in Gaza and its impact on his colleagues, family, and social circle.
“As doctors we are ethically obliged to speak up for our colleagues. From a healthcare work perspective, we have taken it personally that our hospitals and colleagues haven’t been protected in Gaza,” shared David. “(The conflict) has crept into our social circle and our hospitals.”
“There is an incredible moral injury component for healthcare workers on the ground in Gaza, as well as for healthcare workers in Perth, across the country, and around the world.”
“In Gaza, I can’t possibly imagine what it must feel like to have skills and knowledge that are potentially lifesaving and not be able to use them,” David explained. “Some of the videos that Mohammed Mostafa has sent back, I have found especially shocking. I have been shaken to the core by what I have witnessed on the ground in Gaza.”
“We were all shocked by the events that took place on October 7, but the response from Israel has shaken a lot of us,” David emphasised.
David, Mairead and a group of other doctors have raised over $100,000 to support greater access to medical supplies, such as anaesthesia, pain medications, and critical equipment.
Their charitable efforts are far from over. In light of the renewed airstrikes in Gaza, they are now calling for increased support.
The GoFundMe page remains active, receiving donations for urgent medical supplies. You can visit the page to contribute and help support children and families in desperate need of care, https://www.gofundme.com/f/js2a8a-medical-aid-for-gaza
Based in Australia, the charity collaborates with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and the Palestinian Red Crescent, both of which have a proven track record of successfully delivering aid in Gaza.
Following the resumption of bombing in Gaza on March 17, over 500 Palestinians have been killed. Leaders across the Middle East, including those from Egypt and the Arab League, are urging member states to reduce military cooperation with Israel, bolster Arab solidarity, and implement concrete actions to safeguard Palestinian rights.
