Batroun hospital on life-support

NSSF decides to continue to cover operating expenses till end-2012

The Batroun public hospital will continue to operate under the management of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) till the end of 2012. The NSSF issued a decision on March 22 to extend its financial support to the hospital till the end of 2012.

The Emile Bittar Batroun Hospital, which includes 100 beds and has 150 employees, has been facing the threat of closure lately after the NSSF set a deadline for settling the management of the hospital.

The NSSF has been managing the hospital on behalf of the Ministry of Labor since the 1970s. The contract does not end until 2015, but the NSSF’s board said that the hospital has been losing money. It therefore decided to stop covering the hospital’s operating costs and return its management to the Ministry of Public Health, its initial sponsor.

Reported by Hanadi Chami