Healthcare crisis

Levant cities TRIPOLI and BEIRUT. El Rahi's pregnancy is over.

A 27-year-old lady with a herniated disk in Tripoli's maternity hospital recalls difficulty obtaining medication. "It was pricier than I expected." El Rahi won't have children until her country's economy stabilizes.

Lebanon's economy collapsed. Government and banks squandered the country's cash reserves until 2019. Many people can't afford treatment for critical illnesses due to rising health care expenses, making it harder to seek care.

Pediatric ICU head nurse Taha Lara has seen the crisis' impact on youngsters.

Many newborns we see were born at home by mothers who never saw a doctor throughout pregnancy, says the doctor.

' Worsening.

He sees more sick and frail neonates because of this. Some patients become hospitalized.

Because of your tardiness, two babies would have been orphaned. They "abandoned the baby" because of cost.

Suleiman was conceived then. Grandma Diba Aysatado believes he'll follow in her footsteps.

"May he outlive us"

Life-threatening Raida Bitar, the hospital's chief pharmacist, died. Hospital epinephrine supplies are nearly empty. Insufficient supplies force some patients to curtail or forgo treatment.

Bitar says Patient X hadn't taken diabetes medicines for two days. All the problems stem from medicine shortages or high prices people can't afford."

Lebanon's cancer sufferers face shortages and exorbitant costs.

"You see them for months, then you hear their status has deteriorated—we stop seeing them, and I believe we've lost them," Bitar says.

Oncologist Issam Chehade says the crisis has claimed lives. "This medication scarcity has killed some cancer patients," he says. Chehade treats 65-year-old Mohammad Halabi. He had ear and nosebleeds last year.

Rare malignant growth found in nasal cavity. The plumber's five-month hospital stay drained his finances.

I bought five prescriptions yesterday. "$32." The cost was $5. They paid for it. Alhamdulillah. Maybe.Due to economic uncertainty, medical experts have departed the country, leaving hospitals critically understaffed and patients in danger.

Dr. Mahmoud Hassoun doesn't worry about a dearth of doctors and nurses. Doctors are needed to perform brain hemorrhage craniotomies.

Since the economic crisis began, 188 nurses and a third of the hospital's 60 doctors have gone. Hassoun predicts department closures.

Lebanon's hospitals are affected. Order of Nurses Lebanon says 3,000 nurses departed since October 2019. Hussein Kataya, the ER supervisor, resigns.

He and other nurses and doctors can't afford work-related transportation, food, or power.

Kataya made $1,800/month as a nurse until recently. "I'll leave ASAP." My resume has gone overseas.

Beans, rice, and noodles fill his office chair. Higher-paid personnel fed junior nurses. Bitar has had enough.

What's our rent-paying strategy? She says, "Energy exceeds my wage."" She said, "I'll leave ASAP."

Chehade fears moving on. He tries but can't finish it. They need care.