"I love seeing the positive changes in this child and his family"
Esra is a physiotherapist at the Basma hospital rehabilitation centre. In partnership with HI, the hospital has set up a paediatric unit specialised in the care management of neurological disorders.
Esra, physiotherapist, at the Basma hospital rehabilitation centre | © Oriane van den Broeck/HI
A new paediatric unit
Esra has been working at the Basma hospital rehabilitation centre for two years. Since it first opened the paediatric unit, she has specialised in treating children suffering from neurological disorders :
"Before, we worked with children and adults in the same exercise space. It was difficult to focus on the children because of the other patients and physiotherapists around us. Here we can play with them. They do their exercises whilst playing and don't even realise that it's part of their treatment,"
Improved access to information
A library of specialist works, equipped with several computers has also been set up in the centre, "I am currently reading a book about cerebral palsy. If the parents ask us a question, we can search the internet and reference books, or ask a specialist to find the answer and keep them informed," explains Esra.
84 children with cerebral palsy
The unit now manages 84 children with neurological disorders, with an average of 5 - 6 children seen every day. This number has increased considerably since the space was set up. Most of the children feel better and some of them are now able to walk.
The teams involve family members in the patient's treatment. They learn to perform rehabilitation exercises which they can repeat at home.
HI has trained occupational therapists and physiotherapists etc. to further improve the quality of the services they provide, "I took a training course on the treatment of cerebral palsy. I use this method every day to treat the children and it's extremely helpful," adds Esra.
