RHUH employees on strike

Wazzan: Crisis requires political solution

Employees of the Rafic Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) initiated a strike on October 10 to protest the delay in the payment of their salaries. Representatives said the Government is no longer supporting the hospital, which has made it difficult to offer even basic health services.

A statement by the hospital’s employees said that the prolongation of this situation will put patients’ health and lives at risk, in addition to affecting more than 1,100 employees. It said that the hospital’s management and employees require stability in order to function optimally. It said the current board of directors is unable to manage the hospital but its mandate has been extended for the past five years.

Dr. Wassim Wazzan, General Director of RHUH, said: “As usual, technical problems happened with the Ministry of Finance, and we did not receive the sufficient funds to pay the salaries.”

The ministry has already allocated about $2.3 million in Treasury advances to the RHUH. It wants to cut costs before allocating any new funds. “We are unable to reimburse any previous loans under the current conditions,” said Wazzan. He said that the hospital’s revenues are not enough to purchase the necessary healthcare supplies, and the hospital is not able to fulfill its responsibilities.

“The problem of paying the salaries will be solved immediately, but the whole problem of the hospital requires a political and radical solution,” Wazzan said.