Thousands benefit from latest technology in new hospital

Thousands of residents in the western Syrian city of Qunaytirah, 67 km from the capital Damascus, will benefit from the latest medical technology at the newly-opened Golan Hospital, the first medical facility in the governorate. In the past, people were forced to travel long distances for medical services until the hospital opened in February. “Before the the hospital opened, I used to go to a health centre in the Khan Arnaba village, 10 km from Qunaytirah, or to Damascus hospital whenever I needed medical help,” Ramez Shaayer, 23, told IRIN in Qunaytirah. The health centre in Khan Arnaba is basic and unable to deal with emergency cases such as accident trauma, heart attacks or complications in childbirth, he added. “The Ministry of Health (MoH) has financed the construction of the hospital building, while the Japanese government provided a US $4.2 million grant to finance necessary medical equipment for operation rooms, radiology, laboratories, emergency and the outpatient departments,” director general of Golan hospital, Dr Salah Ismael told IRIN. The hospital, which employs 40 specialist physicians, provides care for most medical conditions. Ismael said the hospital had coped with 9,783 emergencies, 5,104 patients in specialised outpatient clinics, 168 maternity cases and 37 surgical operations since April. The medical facility provides health care and surgical services for 150,000 residents living in Qunaytirah as well as residents from many villages in the governorates of Dara'a and Sweida, both around 100 km south of the capital. “We receive a growing number of patients every day. The hospital, with 200 beds, is one of the best as it has the most up-to-date equipment in the world,” Dr Khodr al-Wadi, told IRIN at the hospital. “In view of the growing population in Syria and the rapid development of health care technology in the world, there is a continued need for upgrading medical equipment to secure proper health care and emergency services for the Syrian people," the Japanese ambassador to Syria, Azusa Hayashi, told IRIN in Damascus. The country’s health minister praised previous donations by the Japanese government, including an ambulance service in 1994. More than 15 million patients have benefited from the service over the last 10 years, the minister pointed out. "The Japanese grant to equip the hospital embodies remarkable cooperation that started more than 12 years ago in the health sector between the governments of Syria and Japan," Dr Maher Hussami, Minister of Health, said in a ceremony held to hand over the medical equipment to the hospital on 28 April.