I’m a surgeon in Gaza- I’ll miss my toddler this Christmas but I hope she grows up to be proud of me

Yet for some, this won’t be the case. With work taking people away for the day, alternative festive plans are needed.

One man who will be very far from home on Christmas Day is Dr Matt Newport, a medic from Ramsbottom, Bury. Dr Newport will be away from his wife Rachel and toddler Meredith to save lives at a hospital in war-torn Gaza.

A brave medic from Lancashire has sacrificed a family Christmas with his two-year-old daughter to save lives at a UK Government-funded field hospital in war-torn Gaza.

Anaesthetist Matt, 37, from Ramsbottom, Lancashire, volunteers with frontline medical aid charity UK-Med and has saved countless lives on four deployments to Gaza.

After flying out on December 3, Matt will spend Christmas at the UK’s Al Mawasi field hospital – one of two emergency field hospitals funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO), which have treated more than 300,000 people since January.

Matt said: “It is obviously hard missing all the build up to Christmas. It’s one of those damned if you do, damned if you don’t situations. If I was at home, I’d be feeling guilty about not being here to help people who really need all the help they can get.

“I’ve worked lots of Christmases over the years but this is the first time since I’ve become a dad, so we had a mini-Christmas Day just before I left, which was nice, although confusing for a two-year- old. She opened lots of presents including a scooter and some other bits and bobs and we had the tree up.

“Christmas out here will be a lot different. It will pretty much be business as usual, although we are planning some sort of team meal. There’s not much meat around so I think we’re going to have some nice local vegetarian dishes such as maqluba or some falafel or ganoush.”

Matt touched on how Christmas might be spent by the doctors and surgeons in Gaza.

“We also have some home comforts like some cheese and some Nutella and other treats, so we’ll be fine. I’ve not seen any sign of tinsel or a tree but maybe some people who have just come in might have some fairy lights or something hidden in their bags.

“The only bangs we might hear won’t be Christmas crackers but bombs in the distance – but at least we’re spared the awful jokes.”

Matt explained where in Gaza he is, and what the role entails in a country which is rarely out of news headlines.

He explained: “We were extremely busy when combat operations were at their peak in Rafah, close to where we are based. Things have calmed down a little since October, but we still regularly have mass casualty incidents on top of a big rise in winter-related illnesses, especially respiratory infections in children.

“There are still a lot of jets going over and there’s still a lot of bombing and you often hear small arms fire around the area where the humanitarian zone officially ends. It’s close enough that we’ve had stray rounds flying around over us.

“A few days ago, we had five patients come in that had been hit. Even though they lose some of their velocity they still pack a punch. We had one guy with a bullet through the head that had absolutely smashed his skull. We stabilised him and transferred him to an intensive care unit.”

The reality of life as a surgeon can be hard, and Mett is no stranger to distressing scenes.

“As a surgeon, you do become pretty deadened to most things to do with trauma and death. Before Gaza, I’d seen a lot of serious trauma injuries to kids, especially out with the air ambulance, but they are just not to the same degree of sadness.

Matt – who works for East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust at the Blackburn and Burnley Teaching Hospitals, as well as the North West Air Ambulance – is looking forward to video calling daughter Meredith on Christmas Day.

He said: “I think being away would be much harder if Meredith had more awareness about what is going on. Meredith loves being kept up-to-date on the adventures of a stray cat we’ve adopted out here called Waffles, who we treat like a princess. When she’s older I’m sure she’ll understand exactly why I missed Christmas and will be proud.”