Children and dog by litter in al Hol camp 71. Health consultations in the MSF clinic cease after 5pm. Emergency care is theoretically available at night in the main al Hol camp, but in several instances women reported not being able to access it. ‘One night, my child stopped breathing. He was blue. I took him to the tent of my friend. Fortunately she helped me and gave him emergency care,’ one mother said. 72. In principle, serious cases are escorted out of the camps to field hospitals for treatment. But SDF officials, without any medical training, have absolute discretion as to whether or not to allow patients to leave the Annex to access medical facilities in the main camp. A German woman told RSI, ‘When we go to the entrance and tell the guards that we need to go to the hospital, they tell us “It’s not necessary.”’ A mother in the al Hol Annex told RSI that her infant daughter suffered from a blood infection, but received no treatment in the camp. Instead, she had to persuade camp authorities to allow access to the Red Crescent hospital outside the camp in Hasakeh. ‘It took a very long time and it was very difficult to have permission to go there. They examined her and gave me some antibiotics and said that she needs more treatment. But it’s not available here.’ 73 . Referrals to external hospitals have their own challenges. ‘Children wounded by gunshot had to wait for a long time before being transferred to Hasakeh hospital,’ a Belgian woman said. Women recounted the process of obtaining a medical transfer to hospital outside the camps: ‘They search us, they take pictures of us, and they escort us to the hospital,’ a 28-year-old French woman said. 29 RIGHTS & SECURITY INTERNATIONAL