TRIPOLI, BEIRUT and Lebanon aEUR” Katya El Rahi is relieved that her pregnancy is over.
“I had a herniated disc, and the medication that I needed was difficult to find,” says the 27-year old homemaker. She just gave birth and is currently in Tripoli’s maternity ward. “And when it did turn up, it was extremely expensive.”
El Rahi, who is pictured with her newborn Suleiman, says that she and her husband will not be having any more children until the economy stabilizes.
The country is currently in the grips a severe economic crisis. The financial system collapsed in 2019 after years of mismanagement by the government and the banking sector. This has caused severe shortages in everything, from fuel to food to medicines, and has made it difficult for people to access treatment for serious illnesses.
Taha Lara is the head nurse at the pediatric intensive care unit and has seen the effects of the crisis on some hospital’s youngest patients.
He says that a lot of babies we see are not being seen by a doctor or haven’t had their baby taken care of during pregnancy. “And the results are worse.”
He says that he sees more sick or weak newborns because of the absence of prenatal care. Some are left at the hospital unaccompanied from time to time.
He says, “If you had arrived yesterday, we would have had two babies aEUR” because their parents left them as they didn’t want to pay for them home.” They couldn’t afford the extra care so they “left the babies alone.”
This was the crisis that Baby Suleiman was born into. His grandmother Diba, who looks adoringly at her grandson and says that she has one hope for him, is Diba Aysatado.
“May he see better days than the ones we are living.”
Chief pharmacist Raida Bitar was responsible for overseeing a wide range of medicines and drugs at Rafik Hariri University Hospital, Beirut.
Many of the shelves in the hospital, such as the one for epinephrine (a treatment for severe allergic reactions), are almost empty.
She has observed that patients are rationing or skipping certain treatments because of the severe shortages.
Bitar says, “Two days back, we had a patient that hadn’t been taking his anti diabetic medications and he had both his legs amputated.” “All these complications are due to a shortage of medication or increased prices so that patients can’t afford them.
Patients with cancer in Lebanon have been particularly affected by the cost and shortages.
Bitar says, “You see these people over-and-over for several months, then you hear that their situation has deteriorated.” Bitar adds, “Then we stop seeing them and we guess we’ve lost,”
Dr. Issam Chehade is the chief of the hospital’s Oncology Department. He says that there’s no doubt that the crisis has cost lives.
He says that the shortage of medication has caused the “deterioration” of certain [cancer] patients and led to their deaths.
Mohammad Halabi, 65 years old, is currently being cared for by Chehade.
He began to experience strange sensations in his ears and nosebleeds last year.
A biopsy revealed that the rare form of organ cancer was located near a cavity in the nose. The retired plumber has been receiving treatment at the hospital for the past five months. However, it has put a strain on his finances.
“Yesterday I bought five medicines. He says he paid $32 for the five medications. It cost me $5 to start my treatment earlier in the year.
He said that his family and friends have helped him to pay for it.
He says, “Alhamdulillah”, aEUR.” It may not be enough.
The economic turmoil in Lebanon has also led to a flight of nurses and doctors who have left the country for better work elsewhere. This leaves the country’s hospitals severely understaffed and the patients unsafely unserved.
Dr. Mahmoud Hassoun hasn’t been getting much sleep lately.
Rafik Hariri University Hospital is Lebanon’s biggest public hospital. The director has been trying to find doctors who can perform urgent surgery, such as a craniotomy for a patient with a brain hemorhage.
The hospital now has 15 doctors compared to the 60 who used to work there a few years back, and around a third of its nursing staff aEUR 128 have left since the beginning of the economic crisis.
Hassoun says, “We might be forced to close one or several departments.”
This is a growing trend in Lebanon’s hospitals. According to the Order of Nurses Lebanon, approximately 3,000 nurses have fled the country since October 2019.
Hussein Kataya is the supervising nurse in the emergency room and plans to join the outmigration.
Along with several other doctors and nurses, he said that they couldn’t afford to buy the gas necessary to drive to work. They also struggle to pay for food or electricity.
Kataya says, “I used to earn $1,800 per month in this job. Now that salary is worth $120.” Kataya has taken on a second job as a nurse to help her family survive. “The first chance I will leave. I have sent my CV to many countries.
A pile of food, aEUR” cans, of rice, beans and noodles, is found in his office. Junior nurses in need of food have received food donations from higher-paid staff.
Bitar, chief pharmacist, also has reached her limit.
“How will we eat?” How will we pay rent? She says that electricity is more expensive than my salary. “If I have the chance, I will leave.”
Chehade, a physician in the oncology department, is weighed down by the thought of having to leave. Although he says that he has struggled with the issue lately, he can’t seem to get it under control.
“Who will care for these poor patients?”
