The head of Owners of Private Hospitals’ Syndicate, Suleiman Haroun, considered that the first major challenge facing the Minister of Health, Dr. Firas Abyad, is the medical supplies’ outrageous high prices, serums and oxygen, in addition to the diesel fuel  which constitutes a great burden on hospitals, and if the subsidy on fuels is lifted, the burden will increase.

In an interview with Al Markaziya, Haroun pointed out that “the new minister is aware of all these aforementioned details, as he is the director of Beirut University Hospital, and it is certain that he faced difficulties during his work, which all hospitals suffers, pointing out that , the only possible solution to save the situation is to seek external support for the hospital sector. We hope this will be White’s first mission.”

Regarding the diesel situation, Haroun revealed that “the crisis is in a stalemate, as The oil facilities deliver very small quantities only,  that do not meet the need, and the importing companies informed us today that they will start delivering the material at an unsubsidized price this week, so that this will be the final blow to the sector, as it raises the cost of bills on the patient by an average of 700 thousand pounds per day, for diesel only.” Stressing  “the necessity of maintaining fuel subsidies for hospitals, oxygen laboratories, and serums, because it is directly reflected through the costs incurred by the patient, which are likely to rise as a result of raising the subsidy.”