Staffing shortages paralyze Syria’s health sector
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Fayrouz Muhammad, an official at the Children’s Hospital in Damascus, said on Wednesday that resignations among its staff are increasing, especially of nurses and technicians.
Syria’s health sector is suffering acute staffing shortages as qualified medical professionals go abroad.
According to government sources, around 12.000 out of the 32.000 officially registered doctors immigrated out of Syria in the past years.
During the annual Health Workers’ Union convention on Wednesday, the official noted that “the rapid shrinkage in the numbers of medical staff is reaching critical levels.”
She said leaving the positions vacant will negatively impact the hospital’s ability to operate properly, especially since it is a specialized hospital.
The Children’s Hospital is the only specialized pediatric hospital in Syria. It receives children and toddlers from all governorates and provides medical consultations and treatment.
For over a year, the hospital’s administrators have raised the alarm over the decreasing number of doctors, lack of medicine, and malfunction of primary medical devices.
The Syrian Health Ministry has not succeeded in filling this gap, which requires improving living conditions, paying adequate wages, and equal treatment of working professionals in all sectors, according to Muhammad.