Paul Calvert found out about the Holy Family hospital

Paul: How many beds do you have?

Dr Tabash: We have 63 beds.

Paul: How many babies have been born in this hospital?

Dr Tabash: This is a 125 year-old hospital, which ran as a general hospital for 100 years by the daughters of the charity who built it and own it up to now. When they closed down in 1985 and the Order of Malta took over the management of the hospital and transformed it and re-equipped it into a maternity hospital and opened its doors in 1990, since that time we've delivered over 42,000 mothers.

Paul: Is poverty a big issue in Bethlehem?

Dr Tabash: Unfortunately yes. In the past it was 70% unemployment rate. We have 140 members of staff and each salary we pay helps them to subsidise members of his family. Bethlehem lives on tourism and in the past tourism became very rare. Now they are coming back, we are seeing more and more tourists and hopefully this will improve the situation.

Paul: Is the door always open for the poor and destitute at the hospital?

Dr Tabash: Absolutely yes. We like to say that, 'there is always a place in the inn for any woman who comes in'.

When I talk about education, we are the only hospital in the Palestinian Authority areas recognised by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in London for the training of doctors for the speciality of obstetrics and gynaecology. We are also recognised by the European board and college by the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland and also by the Palestinian Medical Council for the training of doctors. We do participate in the training of future generations of qualified people.

Paul: So you are a pioneering hospital?

Dr Tabash: We are at the edge of maternal and fetal health in the Palestinian areas; we are an example.

Paul: How much does it cost to deliver a child here?

Dr Tabash: The real cost of delivering a child for us is around $340 (US dollars). We ask people to pay a third of that.

Paul: If a child is sick and has to go into intensive care, the cost must go up. How much does it cost to keep a child in intensive care for a day for instance?