Citing infant death, Lebanon cuts funds to Akkar private hospitals

BEIRUT: The Health Ministry reduced Monday its cash subsidies to private hospitals in Lebanon's northern district of Akkar to punish them for mistreating patients.

In a statement Monday, the Health Ministry said the decision to hold back LL1 billion ($665,120) came in response to the death of 4-month-old boy Abdel-Raouf Mounir al-Houli earlier this month, after he was refused admission to two private hospitals in Akkar.

The amount will instead be transferred to the Abdullah al-Rassi public hospital in the northern town of Halba.

A Health Ministry official told The Daily Star that the decision to target all private hospitals in the northern district, rather than just the two implicated in Houli’s death, stems from the large number of complaints reported against private hospitals in the region.

The Rahal Hospital, al-Youssef Hospital and the Saydet al-Salam Hospital will be affected by the decision. A number of others may also be affected.

Samir Rahal, the Director General of the Rahal Hospital, said the Health Ministry’s decision would limit the amount of patients the hospital could admit.

Speaking to The Daily Star by phone, Rahal also denounced the transfer of the funds to a public hospital in Halba.

“The hospital doesn’t have a nursery, it lacks facilities and equipment,” he complained, urging the ministry to increase rather than hold back subsidies, and construct more hospitals in the area.

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