BEIRUT: Health Minister Wael Abu Faour Sunday urged relevant authorities to investigate the case of a young teenager who was allegedly denied entry to several hospitals because of a shortage of beds.
“Health Minister Wael Abu Faour asked relevant authorities to conduct a swift investigation to determine those responsible after what happened with Rita Akoum,” a Health Ministry statement carried by the National News Agency said.
On Friday, Hanan Rahimi, Akoum’s mother, said several hospitals had declined to admit her special needs daughter who was suffering tachycardia due to a respiratory disorder.
In a Facebook post, Rahimi said more than three hospitals had cited a shortage of vacant beds for refusing to treat her ailing daughter.
At Saint Therese Hospital in Hadath, Rahimi said a doctor had described her daughter’s case as an emergency but that medical staff only provided minimal care before asking them to leave.
Rahimi said the other hospitals she tried to admit her daughter into behaved in a similar manner.
According to the Health Ministry statement, Abu Faour warned all hospitals against “taking lightly the dignity and health of citizens” and that “parties failing to fulfill their duties will be punished.”
Abu Faour said Akoum was now receiving treatment after the Health Ministry secured a bed at the Rafik Hariri state hospital in Beirut.
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