HAMA, Syria (North Press) – Residents in Hama, central Syria, complain about the high costs of treatment in private hospitals in addition to the indifference to the lives of patients.
Government hospitals suffer from poor services and disruption of medical devices, which prompts a large proportion of patients to go to private hospitals in Hama.
In the city of Hama, there are two government hospitals: the National Hospital, which receives all cases, and Assad University Hospital, which is intended for women and children.
Residents of Hama indicated that private hospitals in Hama took advantage of poor government services to raise their prices.
High treatment costs
The cost of one night in private hospitals in Hama is 100,000 Syrian pounds (SYP), not to mention the price of drugs, which has become burdensome for many patients, especially those with limited income.
Salwa Khaled (a pseudonym), a woman from the city of Hama, checked the pediatrician’s clinic to reveal the condition of her child who suffers from intestinal pain, as the doctor transferred her to a private hospital.
She told North Press that her child stayed in the hospital for two days to receive treatment that was limited to giving him IV fluid only.
She indicated that the hospital’s accounting department charged 100,000 SYP for one night, excluding the price of medicines, so that the costs reached 500,000 SYP.
Upon checking the bill, it became apparent to Khaled that there are medicines that were not given to her child registered on the bill, and upon facing the hospital, they were delayed and forced to pay the full amount.
She described treatment in private hospitals as a profitable business, taking advantage of the region’s need for it amid the deteriorating health and service situation in government hospitals.
Indifference and negligence
Sua’d Damen (a pseudonym), a woman from Hama, told North Press, “A few months ago, my father was ill; at that time I called a private hospital to help him.”
“All of them refused, and some were under the pretext of lack of fuel and other pretexts,” she said.
She called the Syrian Red Crescent, which also refused to fulfill her request to help her father under the pretext that it is not possible to help the patient if he is not in a coma.
All she could do was ask the neighbors for help, until she was able to help her father by transferring him to a private hospital, but the hospital situation was not better than the ambulance situation.
She added, “I did not find any resident doctor. They asked me to wait for the doctor the next morning, but my father’s condition was bad and could not bear the delay.”
“After threatening to complain, the hospital supervisors contacted one of the doctors, who did not arrive until after my father passed away,” Damen said.
Damen held the hospital the responsible for her father’s death due to their negligence.
She added, “Despite the death of my father due to their negligence, the hospital asked me to pay 150,000 SYP.”
Kamal Maleh (a pseudonym), a cardiologist in Hama, told North Press that the high fees for hospitals are due to several reasons, such as the high price of fuel and medical supplies in addition to the high prices of medical devices and their maintenance.
He pointed out that these reasons have prompted hospitals to raise their prices.
He added, “We do not deny that there are doctors who don’t care about the patients and have forgotten that medicine is a human profession.”