Residents of town in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor demand opening of health center
DEIR EZ-ZOR, Syria (North Press) – Residents of al-Bahra town, 95 kilometers east of Deir ez-Zor, are suffering from the unavailability of active health centers in the town in light of the high prices of medicines and the absence of private clinics, so they are forced to go to hospitals in neighboring cities and towns despite their high costs.
Al-Bahra hosts about 37,000 people who depend on al-Furat Public Hospital in Abu Hamam town, 85 kilometers east of Deir ez-Zor, and the private hospitals in the Hajin city, 110 kilometers east of Deir ez-Zor.
Muhammad al-Jolan, a resident of al-Bahra, said that the remoteness of the hospitals in the event of emergency cases increases patients’ illness, in addition to the expensive wages in private hospitals of Hajin and other cities and towns in the region.
Although there is a health infirmary in the town of al-Bahra, it lacks medical staff and supplies, which pushes the people to rely on private hospitals in neighboring towns.
Moreover, there are six private hospitals in Hajin, which are al- Kisoum, Dar al-Shifa, al-Noor, al-Rasheed, al-Salam, and Hajin Modern Medical, according to the co-chair of the People’s Municipality in the city of Hajin.
In Abu Hamam, there are three hospitals: al-Huda private hospital, the children’s private hospital and al-Furat Public Hospital, according to the co-chair of the Abu Hamam Municipality.
Al-Jolan believes that the Health Committee in Deir ez-Zor’s eastern countryside and humanitarian organizations bear the responsibility of returning al-Bahra infirmary to service by providing staff and medical equipment.
The eastern region of the Deir ez-Zor countryside includes 15 hospitals; two are public, which are the Hajin and the al-Furat hospitals in Abu Hamam in addition to 10 health centers distributed on the region, according to the Health Committee in the eastern region.
Ali al-Sultan, a resident of the town, said that the fact that the infirmary is minimally equipped paves the way for its opening, the appointment of medical staff, and its provision with supplies.
He pointed out that some families rely on antipyretics and analgesics, “which they buy from pharmacies and store unsafely in homes, especially in the midst of high temperatures.”
There are 85 pharmacies in the eastern region, 10 of which are in the town of al-Bahra, although there are no private medical infirmaries in the town, according to the Health Committee in the eastern region.
The co-chair of the Health Committee in the eastern region Misha’l al-Sultan said that the main reason for not activating the al-Bahra infirmary is to focus on rehabilitating al-Furat Public Hospital in Abu Hamam and Hajin Hospital, because they serve larger numbers of residents.
He added that a monitoring committee will check the infirmary, and it will be activated in coordination with the Health Committee of the Civil Council in Deir ez-Zor countryside.