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President Aoun briefed by Ambassador Shea on outcome of Ambassador Hochstein's contacts on border demarcation file, tackles health and hospital affairs with Doctors Syndicate Dean

NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, received the United States’ Ambassador to Beirut Dorothy Shea, today at the Presidential Palace.

 Lebanese-American relations and ways to develop them in all fields were deliberated.  

The meeting was also attended by Deputy Speaker of Parliament Elias Bou Saab.

Indirect negotiations to demarcate the southern maritime borders and the mission of the American mediator, Ambassador Amos Hochstein, were discussed in addition to border demarcation, and the progress achieved.  

Lebanese-American, and American-Israeli contacts will resume to continue researching this issue.

Lebanese Order of Physicians:

President Aoun met the head of the Lebanese Doctors Syndicate in Beirut, Professor Youssef Bakhash, the President of the Arab Society of Nephrology, Dr. Robert Najm, and the Director of the Syndicate, Mrs. Nadine Haddad.

During the meeting, the health and hospital situation, the difficulties facing this sector, and the negative repercussions on the health of citizens and their ability to secure health care were presented.

Statement:

After the meeting, Dr. Bakhash made the following statement: 

"We were honored today to visit His Excellency the President, and it is our duty, as a Lebanese Order of Phsyicians, to brief His Excellency about the challenges we face as a health sector in Lebanon. 

Our Syndicate is in danger, especially its pension fund, which doctors rely on after retirement to obtain their salaries, which does not currently exceed two million and four hundred thousand pounds.

This fund is almost frozen, and its money is frozen in banks that require impossible conditions to move part of its sums.

The Lebanese doctor is also in danger because he receives his fees in Lebanese pounds.  Obtaining the remittances received from the, in light of banks’ refusal to disburse these amounts. 

At the same time, the patient and the citizen are in danger, as hospital bills are not affordable”.

Then Dr. Najm said: 

“We presented with His Excellency the President the kidney problem in Lebanon, and the patients undergoing dialysis sessions, which we are working on to solve with the Ministry of Health and the guarantors.

There will be a meeting next Monday to discuss this issue, because dialysis centers cannot continue in the absence of financial support, especially since the equipment must be purchased in cash, while the guarantors cannot provide cash.

I hope that during the meeting we will be able to find a solution to the issue.  

We also briefed His Excellency on my election as president of the Arab Society of Nephrology, which is the first time that Lebanon has chaired this association, and my entry as a Francophone member in the French Society of Nephrology, which is also the first time that Lebanon is represented in this association”.

Questions & Answers:

Dr. Bakhash was asked about the situation of hospitals in light of the conflict between hospitals, doctors, insurance companies and cash flow where he answered: "The problem affects the country as a whole, and there is a kind of adaptation that we are witnessing to work on the dollarization of dealings between institutions and citizens, and we suffered from it last year because the operating costs for hospital institutions were high because they were paid in cash in dollars, and the income was in the Lebanese pound. Today, services have become premium and paid in cash in dollars, and the private guarantor institutions pay the bills according to the US dollar, and this situation is therefore heading to a certain balance and needs some time to take its natural course”.

Question: What about drug smuggling and its impact on the health of the citizen?

Answer: “We do not have the authority as a physicians’ union to control medicine, because it is a matter specialized in the Ministry and the Pharmacists Syndicate.  But what we are witnessing as a syndicate of doctors and scientific societies that care about the patient, there is a great shortage of medicines, especially cancer and chronic diseases”.

Question: What are the numbers regarding the emigration of doctors?

Answer: “The numbers are not completely accurate, but according to the estimation, the number of doctors who left Lebanon is 3,500, i.e. 25-30% of the total number of the medical sector in Lebanon”.

Question: Is there any effect of this on patients?

Answer: “There is no significant influence. There is a presence of specialized doctors, especially in the capital, and a number of doctors emigrated, but they still visit Lebanon. Therefore, it cannot be said that we suffer from a lack of medical expertise, but if we do not remedy this matter, we may reach a national disaster”. -- Presidency Press Office

 

 

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تابعوا أخبار الوكالة الوطنية للاعلام عبر أثير إذاعة لبنان على الموجات 98.5 و98.1 و96.2 FM

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