Health Minister Cancels Contract with Shifa Hospital over Child's Death
Health Minister Ali Hasan Khalil on Wednesday issued a decree to cancel the contract with al-Shifa hospital in Tripoli after it refused to treat two-year-old Momen Khaled al-Mohammed, radio Voice of Lebanon (93.3) reported.
Khalil elaborated in a released statement: “The investigation's report confirm the hospital did not admit the child for illegal reasons despite him being in urgent need for treatment”.
“All contracts between the Ministry of Public Health and hospitals must be fully respected,” he stressed, noting that “citizens have the right to access hospitalization”.
The minister pledged to follow-up on the legal aspect of the deceased child's case
Momen, who hails from Borj al-Arab town in the northern city of Akkar, died on Tuesday after several Tripoli and northern hospitals refused to treat him from Meningitis because his family could not afford the cost of the care, the National News Agency said.
"The child's parents went from one hospital to another but they were turned down for not being able to bear the cost of the treatment,” the NNA explained.
Khalil had announced on Monday that hospitals will stop treating patients at the ministry's cost because “efforts to issue a decree in this regard could not be reached”.
On Tuesday, however, Khalil stated that the ministry will resume covering these expenses, calling for “assigning financial limits and a budget for hospitalization at the MOPH”.
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