War-torn Syria got a new surgery hospital on Sunday. The medical facility’s services are free, it is specializing in cardiovascular surgery. The hospital has started to operate in Qah, a small town in north of Idlib.
The newly-inaugurated hospital was equipped through the contributions of a group of Syrian doctors in Qah. The Islamic Relief organization, under the supervision of the Ministry of Health in Idlib province, also made its possible contributions.
As the local authorities said, the al-Hidaya Specialist Hospital has the capabilities to perform major surgery, and is free of charge. On Sunday, the first heart surgery was performed successfully. The surgery, a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG), has turned a new page in the history of Syrian medicine.
Important to realize, all hospitals and clinics in the Syrian north can refer to adult and paediatric cardiac surgery consultations to the al-Hidaya Hospital.
The hospital houses several departments, including a cardiac surgery clinic, an operating room, a four-bed intensive care room, and a ten-bed hospital wards that cater to patients with coronary artery disease, valve disease, in addition to birth defects and congenital anomalies.
The Syrian people are struggling to survive over the decade of the civilian war. The bombings have destroyed all factories and other places of work, including well-equipped hospitals. A point often overlooked, a few people have proper jobs anymore but prices for food, transport and health care have rocketed.
The inauguration of the new free hospital in northern Syria becomes really good news, taking into account the non-stop chaos of war. The new facility definitely should give access to medical treatment for thousands of people of any age with cardiovascular diseases.
The refugee camps in Syria suffer from COVID’s fast spreading
The north of the war-torn country is a place for many refugee camps where COVID-19 is spreading fast now. One of its health complications is cardiovascular diseases. Doctors say the novel pathogen is now rampant in the refugee camps of Idlib, north-west Syria.
As aid agencies report, the number of positive coronavirus cases rose uncontrollably in Idlib province last month. The International Rescue Committee confirms that due to a lack of testing, the real figure is expected to be much higher. In October only, there has been an almost 300 percent increase in corona cases.
While just 4,281 people have tested positive, only those with severe symptoms get tested, while others are advised to self-isolate if they have symptoms, leading aid agencies to conclude that overall infections are much higher.
“We are hearing reports of some hospitals inside Syria closing their doors to suspected Covid cases to protect other patients, people being unable to afford a Covid test and others fearing the consequences of going to official healthcare facilities,” said Syria Relief.
