Absence of monitoring | High cost of medical care in private hospitals burdens patients in Idlib

The high cost of medical care provided by private hospitals in Idlib city and countryside have made patients shoulder extra burdens in light of poor service and medical care provided in free hospitals. The private hospitals have repeatedly raised the cost of treatment until it reached to a level unaffordable by the many, especially with the current dreadful living conditions.

 

Recently, the cost of medical treatment in private hospitals in Idlib has considerably increased and varied from a hospital to another in light of the lack of monitoring. Every hospital has set a list of the prices of services it provides, where private hospital seem to be turned into investment and for-profit projects.

 

SOHR activists have reported that many private hospitals in Idlib city, such as “Al-Majd” and “Ibla” hospitals have raised the cost of medical services as follows:

 

• Medical check-up: From 50 TL to 75 TL.

 

• Electrocardiography: From 50 TL to 100 TL.

 

• Intensive care unit: From 50 TL to 100 TL a day.

 

The new prices of medical services in private hospitals in Idlib city and countryside have deepened the sufferings of civilians who have been already grappling with dreadful living conditions in light of the lack of job opportunities and prohibitively high prices of essentials and basic products, as well as the freefall of the Turkish lira.

 

On the other hand, hospitals affiliated to the “Salvation Government,” which provide their services to civilians for free, suffer from acute shortage of medical equipment, supplies and medicines. In addition, these hospitals provide poor services because of the large number of patients who find themselves obligated to depend on free hospitals in light of the unaffordable cost of medical treatment in private hospitals.

 

It is worth noting that the health sector has noticeably deteriorated in Idlib city and countryside, especially after the spread of COVID-19, because of the suspension of support provided by international organisations.