Underground hospital in Hama countryside to avoid bombardment

(Writing by Faris al Rifai; Translation by Yusra Ahmed)

Zaman Al Wasl- Doctors in Hama Northern countryside have established an underground hospital as an alternative to treat patients and wounded civilians and military members, after destructing their hospital by the Syrian regime’s bombardment.

“Smart” news agency has broadcasted a room of a hospital, it looked as if it was part of a cave, in the video there was a person carrying a patient and put him on a bed while a doctor was busy in examining a patient, in the same time there was another patient having an x-ray taken for his back. 

The doctor talked about the circumstances of establishing the hospital, as most hospitals have been destroyed by bombardment, while this hospital is protected because it is underground. He mentioned that the hospital can cover the need for 400 thousand people, either local or displaced. 

The doctor mentioned that medical staff have started working a month and a half ago.

The doctor who preferred to talk to the reporter on condition of anonymity explained that the hospital was destroyed by shelling and therefore they were forced to move to the recent place because it has been safer. 

In regard to the hospital parts, the doctor detailed that it consisted of two part, one for surgery and orthopaedic, while the other part was for in-patients, laboratory, intensive care unit, and gynaecology. 

The doctor mentioned that the hospital needs more advanced equipments like MRI and Ultrasound and laparoscopy. 

Statistics showed that about 17 field hospital in areas outside the regime’s control have been destroyed by regime bombardment, two of them covered the whole southern countryside of Aleppo, 6 in Idlib countryside, and other 6 in Hama countryside. Furthermore, the regime forces destroyed 12 medical centres in Hama countryside, as a strategy to deprive people in areas outside the regime control from the essential services and medical care.