SUWAYDA, Syria (North Press) – Patients of the city of Suwayda, south Syria, complain of the high prices of medical analyses in private labs, in light of often inaccurate results in public hospitals.
Suwayda is home to ten private medical labs and to six public ones.
Crazy increase
Over the past few months, the prices of medical analyses at private labs witnessed a massive increase, which negatively affected patients with limited incomes. The price of some analyses has increased more than four times.
Nihad Ma’ali, a government employee living in Suwayda, said that she cannot afford to conduct periodic analyses due to the “crazy” increase of prices in private labs.
Ma’ali has suffered from hemolysis for two years, which requires her to conduct blood tests three times a month and costs her 21,000 Syrian pounds (SYP) per month.
She referred that she no longer care about her health which is deteriorating day after day, “as my salary of 50,000 SYP lasts only for ten days.”
Ra’fat Hassoun (a pseudonym), a doctor working in a private lab in Suwayda, attributed the reason for the high prices of analysis to the high value of the raw materials used in them.
“90 percent of the raw materials used in analysis supplies are imported, and their price is subject to the exchange rate of the dollar,” according to Hassoun.
Inaccurate analyzes
Six months ago, analysis of the thyroid gland increased from 2,800 SYP to 8,400 SYP, and analysis of solid tumor masses increased from 4,800 SYP to 25,000 SYP.
Meanwhile, the price of vitamin D analysis increased from 6,400 SYP to 22,400 SYP, and the price of vitamin B12 analysis increased from 4,800 SYP to 14,400 SYP.
Due to the unavailability of laboratory analysis in the public sector, patients are forced to conduct them in private labs.
Samir Salama (a pseudonym), a nurse in a public lab, said that “the laboratory analyzers inside public hospitals have not been working properly for years.”
These medical analyzers no longer keep pace with the medical technology because as they are very old, according to Salama.
He did not hide that he advices those who want to conduct analysis to go to private labs, “as the medical devices in public labs are almost idle and do not give results.”
Patients in Suwayda told North Press that the results of public labs’ tests are completely different from those of private labs.
Financial deficit
Although the inaccuracy of the results of public lab analysis could pose a threat to patients’ lives, as doctors rely on them to diagnose conditions and prescribe drugs, workers’ requests in these labs to upgrade devices have not received any response, according to Salama.
TheHealth Directorate attributed this to the existence of a financial deficit that would not allow them to replace these devices with newer ones, he added.
Talal Madi (a pseudonym), an official at the Medical Laboratories Authority at the Suwayda Health Directorate, said that the Ministry of Health in Damascus has received dozens of requests to purchase modern devices and secure technical experts from the Directorate.
“However, we did not receive any response, except remarks that the country is under a major economic blockade, and it is not currently possible to import devices from outside Syria,” he added.
Some government lab devices need maintenance by technicians and specialists, but the emigration of many of them has precluded that, according to Madi.
He added, “There is only one technician left in Suwayda, who cannot set up medical devices in public hospitals and centers.”