The financial crisis did not leave a place that survived the disaster, and one of those places is the Dar Al-Aman Hospital for the Care of the Elderly, affiliated to the Al-Mabarrat Islamic Charity Association, in the Abbasiya area. Today, after four years of the crisis, the latter is in danger, with the difficulty that those in charge of it face in securing the necessary liquidity to complete the task. It is true that many homes face the same fate, but this home has its own peculiarity, as it is the only place for elderly care in the entire south. This means that any bad choice will inevitably affect that group, which will one day find itself without a refuge.
This crisis that the hospital is going through is considered one of the most difficult crises it has faced since its inception in 2005. Over those long years, the hospital was able to fulfill its duties towards the elderly, whether in terms of its capacity of one hundred beds distributed in six floors, or through health services. Basic, diagnostic, preventive and therapeutic services, as well as rehabilitation and physical therapy services, and the organization of various recreational and social activities. Today, services are no longer the same as before, due to financial hardship, the difficulty of securing new resources, and the low number of employees in it, in addition to the most important reason related to “the state’s complete withdrawal from any care role it has to help the elderly, even though the hospital is contracted with the Ministries of Social Affairs and Health.” General, ”says the director of the hospital, Dr. Asaad Haidar, stressing that “since 2020, the Ministry of Health has not paid the amounts it owes, which are originally considered symbolic.” Therefore, the Al-Mabarrat Association, throughout this period, took it upon itself to provide the cost of care for the elderly, “in cooperation and solidarity with a number of relatives of the elderly.”
Employee resignation
However, after the rise in the exchange rate of the dollar and the decrease in the value of salaries, the crisis began to surface. On the one hand, the association was unable to raise workers’ wages in proportion to the cost of living, as the salary of an employee or nurse remained between 7 and 10 million pounds, which paid a good number. them to resign, without the institution’s ability to secure a replacement due to the inability to provide fair wages. In the same context, Haidar notes that “the number of nurses supervising care has decreased by half, which increases the burden and reduces the ability to provide all the necessary care services.” And although the hospital is still contracting with 13 specialized doctors, and it still covers what is necessary and necessary to secure care for the elderly, however, “financial capabilities have become scarce, after the value of donations decreased to more than 80%.”
…and elderly people withdraw
On the other hand, the dilemma of securing the cost of caring for the elderly arises, with it today reaching 15 million pounds per month as a minimum. This cost was reflected, not only on the institution, but also on the families of the elderly, as some were forced to abandon the home due to the inability to pay what was required, as well as to carry out weekly visits due to the high cost of transportation. Information indicates that the number of elderly people has decreased in the home from 80 to 64. This has had negative repercussions on the psyche of the elderly, as Ghazwa Haidar, the public relations official in the home, indicates that “a number of the elderly refused to go out and return to their homes because of their attachment to the home, as they feel Many people are affectionate and caring, especially since it provides them with all the means of comfort in addition to recreational and therapeutic activities. Therefore, Haider hoped that “everyone who can help can provide what is possible to serve these elderly people, most of whom do not find an alternative from the home, either because they lost all their relatives, and they have no children, or because some of them were originally homeless or worked on the roads.”
The Old Women’s Club in Al-Taybeh
The “Elderly Women’s Club” in the town of Taybeh, which is supervised by the municipality, is not similar to Dar Al-Aman Hospital, but it can be considered another exceptional place for the care of elderly women exclusively, even if it is not a place of residence, but rather more like a space for entertainment, where elderly women are transported every morning to it for three days. days a week by municipal buses.
This club provides recreational and sports services, as well as organizes workshops for elderly women, and monitors their health through the medical clinic located in it, and the extent of their commitment to taking medicine and the required food rules. Today, the club’s visitors are increasing, according to director Sabah Fatouni.
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