Muslims urged not to miss medical appointments during Ramadan

Barts and The London NHS Trust is encouraging Muslims to look after their health and attend scheduled medical appointments during the month of Ramadan, says Medical News Today, UK.

Ramadan is the name of the ninth lunar month on the Islamic Calendar. It is about worship and the ritual of fasting, and practised by people who are Muslims, according to TimeOut.

Nuala Close, Lead Cancer Nurse has expressed concern that some Muslim patients may inadvertently miss their cancer screening or other urgent medical appointment during their Ramadan period.

The Trust’s Muslim chaplain Jusna Begum said: “Islamic law exempts the elderly, the ill, young children, pregnant women and nursing mothers from Ramadan’s requirements.

“Patients undergoing treatment for many different diseases maybe required to eat or drink prior to talking their medication or undergo investigations.

It is essential that our Muslim patients follow the strict medication guidance in the knowledge that they are not breaking their religious beliefs.

I ask all Muslims to make their health a priority and attend any scheduled appointments,” The Medical News Today, UK reports.

According to Nuala Close, she said they noticed a spike in missed appointments during Ramadan over the past couple of years.

They would like to address to ensure their patients are seen urgently when they are being referred by their GP’s.

Though she admits that this is an issue not unique to their Trust but to other areas in the UK with a high Muslim population.

She said: “Some of our Muslim patients may not realise the importance of attending their appointment, particularly those who have been referred to us from their GP with a suspected cancer diagnosis. It is important that these patients are seen within two weeks of their referral to the Trust.

“Patients need to understand they are taking an unnecessary risk with their health if they miss they appointment, as to wait the end of Ramadan could have serious consequences on their health.

“Screening tests help save lives by detecting cancers early when treatment can be more effective. Putting off clinic appointment for several weeks can really make the difference to the outcome for patients who are subsequently diagnosed with cancer.”

A representative from The Muslim Council of Britain said: “We urge all fellow Muslim brothers and sisters not to make their own decisions to alter doses or timings of medications without the guidance from their doctors or pharmacists through out the holy month of Ramadan and beyond,

“We also urge local health practitioners to liaise with mosques and Islamic centres to educate the public on this important information during Ramadan fasting.”

Police learn about Ramadan report says

The meaning of Ramadan and how Muslims celebrate the holy month of fasting was explained to Salford police and community officers, according to Asian News.

Shaikh Esam, who sits on the Shari’a advisory board of a number of banks and financial institutions in Bahrain, explained what Ramadan means for Muslims, according to TimesOut.

Ramadan is the name of the ninth lunar month on the Islamic Calendar. It is about worship and the ritual of fasting. And to understand fasting, Shaikh Esam suggests first of all, people should understand what Islam means, Islam is an Arabic word that means to submit willingly to the commandments of God.

Islam is based on five important pillars of which the fourth pillar is about fasting. Muslims surrender to God by surrendering to his laws and people measure the acceptance or rejection of this submission with these five pillars.

These five pillars are: Shahadah, Salah, Zakah, Sawm, Hajj.

Asian News continues by saying that Eccles and Salford Islamic Society hosted the awareness day at Eccles Mosque on Liverpool Road for officers from the Saford South Neighbourhood Policing Team.

The event welcomes members from all communities and it gave them the opportunity to meet a member of the mosque, and their local policing officers, and informally discuss Ramadan, the meaning for Muslims living in this country, in Salford, and how the period will policed.

Back to TimeOut, the first pillar “Shahadah” means to declare with conviction and acceptance that there is no one worthy of worship other than Alla. The second part of this pillar is to declare that Mohammed is his messenger.

The second pillar “Salah” establishes the five daily prayers in their set forms and their special times which correlate to the position of the sun – sunrise, sunset. Muslims pray five times a day.

Zakah means anyone who owns a minimum threshold amounts and retains this minimum threshold for one lunar year is obliged to pay out 2.5 per cent (the rule thumb) of this threshold, for charitable purposes.

Sawm is the fourth pillar of the whole process, it is to fast for the complete days of Ramadan, to abstain absolutely from any intake of food and drink between the break of dawn and sunset.

Fasting has two dimensions, the abstinence from natural acts and the uplifting, cleansing and purifying spiritually.

Last pillar “Hajj” to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca during the season of the pilgrimage, once in someone’s lifetime, if the person is physically and financially able.

The Asian News concludes that the officers were also on hand to talk to residents about the issues that affect them on a daily basis and discuss ways that can help improve their quality of life.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to learn about anther culture as well as meeting a member of the Salford South Neighbourhood Policing Team,” said a member of the public.