In an interview with Al-Nashra, the head of the Syndicate of Private Hospitals in Lebanon, Suleiman Haroun, confirmed that hospitals are taking proactive measures, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health, “so that we can be prepared to the best of our capabilities if things develop in Lebanon.” He explained, “There will be an operating room in the Ministry of Health, so that communication remains ongoing, continuous, and direct with all hospitals that receive the injured, to distribute them to all operating hospitals that are prepared for the dangers of war, which I hope will not occur.”
In response to a question, he pointed out that “we are working hard to ensure that the stock of medicines and medical supplies is sufficient, and we are also taking proactive measures to ensure that communication is secure between doctors, nurses, and technicians, according to a special program in the event of war breaking out, to secure medical work over a 24-hour period.”
Regarding the medicine and the process of storing it so that it is available as needed, he explained that “the issue of storage depends on the financial conditions of hospitals, and as is known, a large number of hospitals are financially unable to secure the required stock, so we need international aid, and the Minister of Health in the caretaker government, Firas Al-Abyad. He is trying to communicate with international bodies to help Lebanon with this issue. Perhaps he will succeed because the Lebanese state, as has become known, is financially incapable.
He pointed out that “the issue of the valleys is not very bad. There are a small number of medicines that are not insured, but the solution is to use an alternative to the missing medicine,” pointing out that “the currently insured stock, between hospitals and private warehouses, is initially sufficient for approximately two months, but in light of the military operations In the case of war, we do not know what the percentage of need for it is.”
As for the improvement in the financial conditions of hospitals after “billing” became in dollars, he stressed that “financial conditions did not improve because expenses increased even above the price of the dollar and very significantly, in conjunction with a decrease in income, due to the decrease in the number of patients who were entering hospitals, It is approximately 40 percent, and hospitalization rates have not reached the level they were in 2019.”
He explained, “Tariffs with insurance companies range between 60 and 65 percent of what they were before 2019. Consequently, expenses have increased, revenues have decreased, hospitals are in deficit, and their financial conditions have not improved. On the contrary, they have declined.”
As for the diesel tanks and the risk of them being bombed if war breaks out, he stressed that “there is no solution except through international support, with the World Health Organization or the International Red Cross, to be in contact with the Israeli enemy to not bomb the tanks that The diesel material is transported to hospitals,” he said, “I am not a military expert, but we do not have the ability to prevent the bombing of tanks as they move between regions.”
He pointed out that “in light of the electricity crisis, which we are still experiencing and suffering from, hospitals can store diesel fuel for a period ranging between a week and a month at the latest, according to the financial and technical capacity of each hospital,” calling on officials and stakeholders to “work to avoid an outbreak.” War, because all of Lebanon cannot bear war, not just the hospital sector.”
2023-10-27 08:21:30
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