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Demanding cash payments from pharmaceutical and equipment companies may stop Lebanon’s university hospitals (Getty)
A statement from university hospitals in Lebanon caused real confusion on Friday, after explicitly stating “an apology for receiving patients due to a shortage of supplies and medicines,” calling on officials to “take immediate action to fix the defect.” .
The Lebanese American University Medical Center issued a joint statement – Rizk Hospital, Saint George University Hospital, Our Lady of Aid University Hospital, Hotel Dieu University Hospital and Mount Lebanon University Hospital, stating that the decision of these hospitals was made in accordance with the decision of the Lebanese Union of Importers of Medical Equipment and Supplies and the Union of Importers of Medicines and Warehouse Owners in Lebanon, which requires the payment of invoices for hospital medicines in Lebanese pounds and foreign currency in cash, and requests the approval and commitment of hospitals to this as a condition for continuing to deliver equipment and drugs.
The statement clarified the inability of hospitals to pay under these conditions, because hospital bills are paid by various public and private guarantee agencies and with funds through checks or cashless bank transfers, and since hospitals cannot ask patients , especially in the current circumstances, that they pay part of their bills in cash, and based on this painful reality that they have paid, hospitals should apologize to patients for their inability to continue providing curative and surgical medical services during the next period “The statement emphasized that hospitals are not responsible for this decision, as the unions’ decisions to pay cash paralyzed the capacity of the hospitals and prevented them from” continuing to fulfill their mission of serving patients despite the sacrifices. that they did and still are in the service of humanity. They do not bear the consequences of these decisions and circulars that the authorities issued by them alone remain responsible for what could threaten the health and social security of citizens and the lives of patients, and they are not “Especially those with chronic diseases “.
In a call with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, the Director of the Emergency Department of the Hotel Dieu University Hospital and the President of the Lebanese Red Cross, Dr. Antoine Al-Zoghbi, lamented “the lack of health planning in Lebanon, where Hospitals suffer from a fundamental problem. All consideration is that they constitute the foundation of human life, and they are not allowed to be limited by any political dispute or for any government to stop them, “wondering,” How do we combat the new Corona virus and other diseases, we must fight it with poverty? And how can we find solutions in the absence of the required plans? ”
He pointed out that “the countries of the world have plans to face the Corona virus, and they also have proactive plans for the expected number of patients, but all this is lacking in Lebanon, so instead of making an effort to finance the health and hospital sector, they already be it from the World Bank or the United Nations, we see them appealing for financing for construction purposes or for the airport. For example, while citizens and residents are under threat, it is a public health problem. ”
Al-Zoghbi said: “We have been to (Hotel Dieu) like other hospitals, the suffering is one and the hospitals are full of patients with Covid-19 and other diseases, but the Corona virus has exacerbated the crisis, especially since we have designated part of the hospital as an isolation unit and a care unit for Covid-19 patients. ” , Revealing that “the current solution lies in the continued communication of each patient with their doctor to decide whether or not to receive treatment at home.”
For his part, the general director of St. George (Roman) University Hospital, Edgar Jojo, said: “We were like other hospitals, since between today and the next we will have to apologize for receiving patients and for providing curative medical services, based on to what we have left of supplies. Medicines and drugs “.
He added to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed: “The decision to pay in cash is a delinquent decision, as it is impossible to pay in cash and we do not collect our fees in cash,” and emphasized that “the lesson in the bank statement of Lebanon issued a short time ago is still implementation and implementation, so will they give us cash? ” .
Lebanon Consumption
The Bank of Lebanon issued the following statement: “The Banque du Liban announces about the medical supplies needed by hospitals, in application of Circular 573, which establishes the payment of the cost of medical supplies in Lebanese pound banknotes. These notes are insured and the banks concerned will insure them to hospitals to pay for the cost of necessary medical supplies. This decision was agreed between the Association of Banks and the Bank of Lebanon, as all needs are assured and there is no need to hesitate to provide all the medical services that the Lebanese need.
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