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By Mustafa Khalifa.
Ghat, 6 September 2015:
Ghat general hospital is once more in chaos and on the verge of collapse. Officials say . . .[restrict]that because of the departure of unpaid staff, coupled with the lack of fuel for emergency generators and the general absence of medications and basic medical supplies, the town’s hospital can barely manage the most limited demand.
People needing medical treatment are travelling the 1,400 kilometres to Tripoli. The obstetric clinic is closed and the hospital says it can no longer handle the most basic procedures, lacking plasma, needles, swabs and antiseptics.
Despite the arrival of inexperienced young volunteers seeking to help out, managers say that the hospital can no longer cope, especially with emergencies in the course of the night.
Though Ghat itself is generally peaceful, hospital administrators say it has been isolated by fighting in Obari. Yet, it is unclear why conflict in Obari can stop medical supplies reaching Ghat while townsfolk needing treatment are able reach Tripoli.
Locals have told the Libya Herald that much of the blame lies with the hospital’s management led by Rasul Mohamed Mubarak, whom they say have lacked planning and failed to secure proper funding from central government.
Moreover, one major issue at the hospital is its extremely poor cleanliness. Rectifying this requires nothing more specialised than a broom, a cloth, water and disinfectant. Yet nothing has been done to reverse the unhygienic conditions.
Ghat hospital last declared that it was in trouble in April when it said that its medical services were on the verge of collapse. The following month a medical team from Tripoli, mostly made up of dentists and ophthalmologists spent a week at the hospital, bringing with them with medical supplies.
Five months later, it seems that Ghat’s only medical centre is back in deep trouble.
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