South Lebanon- Since the first day of the outbreak of the war on the Gaza Strip on October 7, 2023, hospitals in the border towns of southern Lebanon, such as Bint Jbeil, Mays al-Jabal, Marjayoun, and Hasbaya Hospital, have rushed to develop emergency plans in preparation for the possibility of an escalation of military confrontations.
More than 7 months after the beginning of the confrontations on the southern front, these government hospitals are facing a difficult reality, but they are still standing and continuing to provide their medical and hospital services.
“Despite all the difficulties and situations, we are continuing and will not close the hospital, no matter the circumstances,” Moanes Kalaksh, director of Marjayoun Governmental Hospital, confirms to Tel Aviv Tribune Net, and says that they provide all medical services in all departments despite the many challenges they face.
Challenges
These challenges are due – according to Kalaksh – to the significant decline in the hospital’s operational percentage from about 80% to 20% as a result of the displacement of people from multiple areas in Marjayoun to safer areas, while the hospital relies on self-financing.
The second challenge is the shortage of doctors and employees, especially in the nursing and administrative departments, as a result of the migration of some of them since the beginning of the economic crisis in 2019. This situation worsened with the beginning of the Israeli aggression in the south.
The director of Marjayoun Hospital complained that major companies do not send medical supplies and medicines to the region, forcing the administration to assign someone to secure them from Sidon, Nabatieh, or the capital, Beirut. He pointed out that they were able to obtain support from some international bodies and the Ministry of Public Health, which contributes to ensuring the continuity of their work.
In turn, Hasbaya Governmental Hospital is facing a delicate situation that its director, Samah Al-Bitar, does not hide, who expressed her concern about the worsening tension that greatly affects their continuity of presence alongside patients. She told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that they suffer from a shortage of doctors coming from different regions, and a scarcity of medical supplies and medicines due to the difficulty of access as a result of the dangerous roads.
They also face a shortage of in-kind aid such as oxygen and electricity, which has led to the closure of the hospital’s intensive care unit. The biggest challenge, according to Al-Bitar, lies in the problem of covering treatment expenses by guarantor bodies such as the Ministry of Health and others, which do not pay treatment bills directly, and the hospital faces a significant delay in receiving payments from guarantor bodies.
Al-Bitar points out that the importance of Hasbaya Hospital is evident in its strategic location, as it combines its proximity to the border and its distance at the same time, but it has not yet been subjected to a direct attack. Thanks to its close location, it can be quickly reached if anyone is injured, ensuring that the necessary medical care is provided immediately.
safety valve
Despite the challenges, those in charge of Hasbaya Hospital were able – in the last two months – to open the dialysis department, establish a center – 6 months ago – to follow up on pregnant women during and after childbirth, and rehabilitate and maintain the laboratory department, according to its director, Samah Al-Bitar.
There are other border hospitals on the second line of fire closest to Bint Jbeil, including Tibnine Governmental Hospital, Nabatieh Hospitals and Tyre. Followed by Sidon, which is located on the third line, and is more than 70 kilometers away.
The head of the administrative and financial administration at Tibnin Hospital, Muhammad Awarka, explained to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that the hospital is today considered a health and vital safety valve in the region. It includes 85 beds, with an operational rate of about 95%, and more than 200 employees, including administrators and nurses, and about 75 doctors.
According to Awarka, the hospital developed – from the beginning – a comprehensive emergency plan to confront any challenges, and confirms that they are continuing to provide their services to the steadfast residents and displaced families. All departments are fully operational, and the Emergency and Operations Department is facing great pressure in light of the current aggression.
He added that in the Houla massacre, the hospital witnessed the arrival of large numbers of injuries, which varied between minor, moderate, and serious, in addition to two cases that required surgical operations. They provided the necessary care for the injured according to the plan they had drawn up from the beginning.
Since the beginning of the war until now, Tibnin Hospital has received 170 cases, including martyrs and wounded, and Awarka says that they have not faced difficulties in treating the injuries or transferring them to other hospitals. He explained that injuries resulting from Israeli attacks are “additional costs at the expense of the Ministry of Health.”
He pointed out that they faced difficulties in covering these expenses, and contacted the Minister of Health, Firas Abyad, who pledged to increase the financial ceiling to enable them to meet the treatment needs resulting from the increasing number of infections.
corporate responsibility
So far, Tibnin Hospital has not faced a shortage of medical supplies or medicines, but border pharmacies are facing difficulties in meeting their needs for medicines and supplies due to the danger of the border roads.
Hoda Moqlad, at the “Hamoud” pharmacy in Tibnin, Bint Jbeil district, told Tel Aviv Tribune Net that there are great difficulties due to the current security situation, which prevented representatives of drug distribution companies from arriving to the border villages, which resulted in a noticeable shortage.
She adds that Delivery is irregular Although some warehouses deliver medicines, this leads to long delays in orders, and in some cases, medicines are not fully available, causing pharmacies to reduce their work efficiency.
In the town of Al-Sultaniya, in the Bint Jbeil district of Nabatieh Governorate, the owner of Al-Sultaniyah Pharmacy, Yasser Yassin, says that the situation is very difficult, as they are facing the worst crisis in more than 7 months, with them losing half of the medicines, and the agents of the pharmaceutical companies did not provide and deliver them.
Yassin continued to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that they dispense alternative medicines to patients, which have the same substance and effectiveness, but from other companies.
In this context, the head of the Pharmacists Syndicate, Joe Salloum, indicated to Tel Aviv Tribune Net that half of the pharmacies in the southern regions were closed due to the security situation on the border, and some of them suffered direct injuries, while others continue to work “with live flesh,” as he put it.
He added that these pharmacies have become self-reliant in purchasing medicines from Beirut, due to the reluctance of distribution company representatives to reach those villages, which made pharmacists face losses in their profits due to the cost of going to the capital.
In his opinion, the responsibility is shared with the Lebanese state, “and it must provide financial support or compensation to pharmacists who suffer losses that exceed their capacity and affect their continuity.”
