Lebanese Hospitals Forced to Scale Down Operations Due to Electricity Shortage

BEIRUT, (Sputnik) - Hospitals in Lebanon have had to reduce or suspend operations due to a lack of fuel to run power generators, while some doctors cannot even get to work because of gas shortages, Lebanese medical experts told Sputnik on Wednesday.

"For example, yesterday [Tuesday], St Louis Hospital in Jounieh closed. There are hospitals that are on the verge of closing down altogether, but we are yet able to get them 2-3 liters of diesel for power generators. Most hospitals are left with no more than 2-3 day worth of fuel stock. The government and state-owned enterprises say they have no fuel reserves, and if nothing changes, we are on the brink of a grave crisis," the chief of Lebanese Syndicate of Hospitals, Sleiman Haroun, said.

Many hospitals have had to shut down separate units to save energy, and in some wards, air conditioning has been switched off to conserve fuel to the fullest extent possible, Haroun said.

The head physician of Dar Al Amal University Hospital, located in eastern Lebanon, said that his hospital, just like many others in that region, was operating at maximum capacity and could help only patients in need of urgent assistance.

"We are facing a really serious problem now ... Many medical workers cannot get to the hospitals as they ran out of gasoline", Youssef Badra said, adding that because of a shortage of personnel, some doctors have had to stay overnight in hospitals.

Lebanon's power grid collapsed over a month ago as the state couldn't afford to purchase fuel. Electricity is available to the population for only one hour per day. Since 2019, the Middle Eastern country has been struggling with an economic and political crisis, aggravated by the devastating blast in the Port of Beirut last August.