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Suspension Of Basic Medical Services As Lebanon’s Collapse Intensifies
Healthcare costs are skyrocketing in Lebanon and threatening the wellbeing of millions of people. Lebanon’s medical experts are warning that hospitals may soon not be able to provide patients with life-saving operations and urgent medical care because of a financial crisis.
Lebanon is wrangling with an unseen economic and financial crisis that largely impacted its healthcare system: shortages in medical supplies, fuel and other basic goods, with long queues forming outside gas stations. Lebanon’s latest dollar shortage has also forced some pharmacies to close their doors in protest of the worsening conditions. Hospitals have also decided to cut down on elective surgeries and tests in order to save what is left of medical supplies and anesthesia for emergency operations as a stifling dollar shortage restricted the import of vital medical supplies and led banks to curtail credit lines.
In this framework, the Syndicate of Hospitals in Lebanon announced in a recent statement that hospitals across the country are facing “a severe shortage” of subsidies and the basic medical supplies to conduct laboratory tests and identify diseases. The shortage of medical supplies in Lebanon is threatening the capacity of hospitals to continue offering dialysis past the coming few days; doctors say they may be forced to suspend kidney dialysis next, blaming shortages on a disagreement between medical importers and the Central Bank over subsidies with foreign reserves running low.
The head of Medical Equipment Importers’ Syndicate, Salma Assi, stated last night that they have reached a solution on dialysis because the Central Bank requested funds and gave a promise, but the problem of laboratories has not yet been addressed nor discussed. Sleiman Haroun, Head of Owners of Private Hospitals’ Syndicate, said that consequently, the Central Bank promised that it will provide part of the funds to distributors of medical kits in order to support them, prioritizing dialysis and laboratories.
A state’s failure to take all obligatory measures to protect patients within their power from transgressions of the right to health by third parties, and the incapacity to adjust the activities of individuals and legal authorities so as to prevent them from violating the right to health of people, also constitutes a violation — warning that medical experts will need to favor patients with serious cases; If they cannot secure the supplies needed, some patients will die.
Lebanon is wrangling with an unseen economic and financial crisis that largely impacted its healthcare system: shortages in medical supplies, fuel and other basic goods, with long queues forming outside gas stations. Lebanon’s latest dollar shortage has also forced some pharmacies to close their doors in protest of the worsening conditions. Hospitals have also decided to cut down on elective surgeries and tests in order to save what is left of medical supplies and anesthesia for emergency operations as a stifling dollar shortage restricted the import of vital medical supplies and led banks to curtail credit lines.
They’ve announced a three-day strike starting this Friday until the following Monday.
— Beirut.com (@BeirutCityGuide) June 10, 2021
In this framework, the Syndicate of Hospitals in Lebanon announced in a recent statement that hospitals across the country are facing “a severe shortage” of subsidies and the basic medical supplies to conduct laboratory tests and identify diseases. The shortage of medical supplies in Lebanon is threatening the capacity of hospitals to continue offering dialysis past the coming few days; doctors say they may be forced to suspend kidney dialysis next, blaming shortages on a disagreement between medical importers and the Central Bank over subsidies with foreign reserves running low.
The head of Medical Equipment Importers’ Syndicate, Salma Assi, stated last night that they have reached a solution on dialysis because the Central Bank requested funds and gave a promise, but the problem of laboratories has not yet been addressed nor discussed. Sleiman Haroun, Head of Owners of Private Hospitals’ Syndicate, said that consequently, the Central Bank promised that it will provide part of the funds to distributors of medical kits in order to support them, prioritizing dialysis and laboratories.
Many are only performing emergency tests.
— Beirut.com (@BeirutCityGuide) May 28, 2021
A state’s failure to take all obligatory measures to protect patients within their power from transgressions of the right to health by third parties, and the incapacity to adjust the activities of individuals and legal authorities so as to prevent them from violating the right to health of people, also constitutes a violation — warning that medical experts will need to favor patients with serious cases; If they cannot secure the supplies needed, some patients will die.