(Zaman Al Wasl)- At a time when government agencies were honoring and hailing the medical achievements of the Mouwasat hospital in Damascus for carrying a successful operation or holding a medical conference, a number of accusations against the hospital came to the fore.
The last accusation came under the expression “drowning in a glass of water”, for although it was built on a high hill, the hospital got washed away by torrential rains which lasted only a few hours.
The hospital stands now as a site of negligence and a symbol of corruption. The phenomenon of favoritism spread like wildfire, especially in the appointment of administrators and nursing staff to the managers who pay millions to the Minister of Higher Education in order to be appointed on its head.
The number of medical errors and death cases in the hospital has recently significantly increased, and there are those who claim that the reason behind that is simply the "exhaustion of the Syrian war." However, the real reason that hasn’t been announced is, in fact, the compulsory liquidation of a number of administrators, doctors and nursing staff by the Minister of Higher Education by order of the head of the government of the Regime following a surprise visit to the hospital earlier this year.
The situation got worse when the staff that was let go was replaced by an unprofessional one, according to an official at the ministry of higher education. “They were fired only in order to be replaced by a number of supporters who were waiting for the opportunity, most of them relatives of the minister and prime minister and some are security officers, he added."
“What has my daughter done to deserve such a death? She was given the wrong injection in the muscle; these are not doctors and nurses who are working there; theses are Butchers.” Said Suha’s mother. Suha died in the hospital, a few days after checking in to cure her fractured hand.
The young man’s fate, Omar, wasn’t any better than hers. Following an accident, he was taken to the emergency room where he bled to death waiting for any doctor to operate on him.
Dozens of stories about corruption and neglect are reported by hospital auditors on the media pages of the city of Damascus; yet no official body has taken the initiative to address the deficiencies and neglect occurring in the hospital, prompting many to change the name of the hospital from consolation to tragedy.
The Director General of the Mouwasat hospital did not try to hide some cases of corruption taking place in the hospital. He pointed to the fact that only one ambulance operates despite the presence of dozens, and then added to local media that the device "flex" has been idle for years, as well as some of the attached devices.
Public anger against the situation of the hospital culminated with the invasion of water in the first floor ruining
all its devices, which led to the transfer of patients to other rooms which got very crowded. Rainwater resulted in damaging large quantities of essential hospital supplies, including medical equipment, especially since most of the warehouses are located in the basement or in the first floor.
Mohammed Black wondered in amazement: “How can the water reach the hospital when it’s placed on a summit so high?”
Because most hospitals in the Regime control areas are concerned with treating the wounded of the regime's army, the patients have to visit the Mouwasat hospital. This causes great congestion which delays surgical operations, even the urgent ones; thus, patients find themselves obligated to pay bribes to administrators and doctors to advance them in the line of those waiting to be operated and those in power also use their authority to bring their dates closer.
Auditors who noticed the decline in health services believe that it is not only the case for the consolation hospital but in most if not all public hospitals. It is also believed that this is done deliberately by the ministries of higher education and of health in the Assad regime in order to push patients to seek the services of private hospitals owned by doctors working in the ministries, or by senior regime and security officials.
Zaman Al Wasl
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