Hospitals in Homs following Damascus hospitals’ path of neglect

A citizen from Homs has publicly appealed to the relevant authorities, demanding the renovation of government hospitals and improvement of the deteriorating medical services instead of resignation. In a widely circulated video clip, he criticized the conditions at Ibn al-Walid Hospital and several other hospitals in the city, affirming that they have turned into "slaughterhouses" lacking even the most basic healthcare essentials.

He pointed to the absence of medical equipment and essential medicines, forcing patients and their families to seek individual solutions to secure treatment, thereby exacerbating their suffering. He also accused local authorities of being preoccupied with secondary matters that benefit only certain government officials, while ignoring the exhausted health reality. He called on the Transitional Government to prioritize hospital renovations and supply them with necessary materials, stressing that "hospitals in Homs need an urgent reform revolution."

On August 19th, based on patient testimonies, ANHA agency published a report on the decline of free treatment services for cancer patients in Damascus, where government hospitals no longer provide essential supplies, forcing patients to obtain their medications themselves and bear costs beyond their means. Additionally, government hospitals in Damascus have notably shifted towards a model resembling private hospitals.

Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy now have to purchase all their treatment supplies independently, including intravenous doses, serums, injections, catheters, and various foreign medicines, according to testimonies from several patients’ families.

Our agency also highlighted, in a report dated August 21st, the impending depletion of blood bag stocks in hospitals and blood banks in Damascus due to halted supplies and staff shortages, threatening thousands of lives if urgent measures are not taken.

Since the fall of the Assad regime and the transfer of control to the Transitional Government, no tenders or contracts have been made to secure blood bags for banks and hospitals, resulting in complete exhaustion of the strategic stockpile. According to healthcare workers, the remaining quantities are sufficient for only a few days.

The healthcare sector is now suffering from clear administrative paralysis, with no measures taken to address shortages despite the evident danger for months. Former employees confirm that the lack of effective management and repeated delays in decision-making have directly contributed to reaching this critical stage.

ANHA