Closed Sharjah hospital is given another chance

A ministry official said that the hospital had agreed to employ staff and buy more equipment to overcome the shortage and improve its standards. “The ministry has decided to give the management of the hospital another chance after they agreed to fulfill the ministry requirements,” said Shaikh Mohammed bin Saqr Al Qasimi, head of the Sharjah Medical Zone.

On Wednesday, an official from the licensing department at the ministry said that the decision to close the hospital had been taken by a high-level committee.

Scores of patients had been left in the lurch after the sudden closure of the hospital last weekend. Patients wrote in to express concern, saying that they had paid in advance for their ongoing treatment at the hospital.

Hospital’s closure unsettles patients Hundreds of patients and medical staff have been caught unawares with the sudden closure of Central Private Hospital, said to be Sharjah’s oldest private hospital. Health officials said the closure came after warnings to address staff shortage went unheeded. Despite the fact that the 30-year-old hospital has been shut down for the past three days according to the nearby shopkeepers, patients, medical representatives and pharmacists unaware of the closure continued to visit the hospital. The hospital was popular among residents because of its affordable healthcare.

A number of women were due for delivery on the dates that the hospital was shut down while children were also due to receive vaccinations. Others were awaiting issuance of birth certificates for their newborns.

“I have gone many times to the hospital but nobody is there and the premises are sealed by the government,” said Anish Andrews, a Khaleej Times reader. “I am unable to do the vaccination for my one-week-old baby without his birth certificate. And also I am unable to apply for a passport for the baby without the birth notification and certificate. This is a very horrible situation which is affecting patients,” he had written.

The 60-bed hospital is said to be the oldest private medical facility in the emirate and is popular among residents due to its low medical fee structure.

asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com