The National Hospital in the city of al-Tabqah / al-Thawrah, rural Raqqa, announced the opening of the first dialysis center, where the first dialysis was offered to a child free of charge.

Dr. Mamdouh al-Fahed, the former official of the Healthcare Directorate in Raqqa, spoke to Enab Baladi about the center and the services it provides.

Al-Fahed explained: “The need is urgent, and the suffering is catastrophic” of thousands of kidney failure patients in the area, which necessitated the foundation of the center, for prior to its opening kidney failure patients were forced to go to the two cities of Ayn al-Arab/Kobanî or  al-Hasakah, where the nearest centers are located.

The doctor said that the center was opened for a trial period, as it will be officially launched the next week.
He added that three dialysis devices were secured, in addition to some of the supplies they need; the devices were prepared at the technical level.

A fourth device is being maintained to be put on service as well.

The center offers services to all patients for free, and the entities concerned with the project are seeking to cover the largest number of areas in north-eastern Syria, such as Raqqa and Deir ez-Zor.

Al-Fahed explained that currently the project is being funded by the hospital’s administration while there is not a major donor.

About the futuristic plans, al-Fahed said that they are seeking to expand the center by providing dozens of devices that will offer dialysis services to the largest number of in need patients.

Disastrous Medical Conditions

Al-Fahed described the healthcare status in Raqqa as inconvenient, so far there is not any free of charge hospital in the city, to which about 400 thousand persons have returned, and the National Hospital has not yet been opened.

He declared that there are free dispensaries of limited specialties, including the maternal hospitals, the dispensary of Doctors without Borders and the UPP Organization women’s clinics, in addition to other few dispensaries.

The hostilities witnessed by the city of Raqqa had a negative impact on all the city’s sectors, including healthcare.

The shelling of the US-led coalition and the explosive devices of the Islamic State/IS led to the destruction of the majority of the city’s vital centers and facilities, including hospitals and medical centers which had the largest shares of destruction, thus triggering one of the major challenges to the people who returned to their homes.

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