Health Board in the al-Jazira region suspends the closure of hospitals in Qamishli
Qamishli – North-Press Agency
Abdulhalim Suleiman
On Thursday, the Health Board of the al-Jazira region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria suspended a decision to close seven hospitals in the cities and towns of Qamishli, Derik and Girke-Lege.
The decision to suspend the closures came after an emergency meeting held today, Thursday, on the initiative of the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) between health sector officials in the Autonomous Administration and the private hospitals' directors in the al-Jazira region.
According to the text of this statement No. 6, dated Thursday, the hospitals which were mentioned in statement No. 5 which stipulated their closure pledged to abide by the instructions and decisions issued by the authority, and in return, the authority suspended the implementation of the procedures for the decision to close.
North-Press obtained a copy of statement No. 5, issued last Monday, April 13th, which stipulated the closure of Farman Hospital in Qamishli, Rahma Hospital in Qamishli, and Suleiman Saleh Hospital in Derik, starting from 12 pm on the 16th of April until 12 pm on the 20th of the same month.
The decision also included the closure of the Nafez and Dar al-Shifa hospitals in Qamishli, from the 20th to 24th of April.
The Health Board's decision also stated that the Yaqoub Salim Surgical Hospital in Derik will be closed from Thursday, April 14th, until the necessary restoration is done, while the Derik Health Directorate was assigned to administer the al-Salam Hospital in the town to receive only emergency cases.
For its part, the management of the four hospitals in Qamishli held a press conference in front of the Farman Hospital building, in which Iyad Abdulkarim, the Director of the Farman Hospital, spoke to reporters about their commitment to all decisions issued by the Health Board and the crisis management team that administer the region during the ban imposed to prevent the outbreak of coronavirus. Abdulkarim declared the Hospital's initiative to provide medical services free of charge to patients, except for the fees of physicians who work there.
Abdulkarim told North-Press that the Farman Hospital continues its work "on his initiative and in response to the call of the citizens. I thank everyone who sought to prevent the closure of the hospital during the four days that it was scheduled to close. Farman Hospital will provide its free services."
