By Jamal Adel.
Kufra, 14 August 2014:
Over 40 percent of the Filipino healthcare professionals working at Sirte’s Ibn Sina Hospital, along with . . .[restrict]11 workers from the Sirte Medical Clinic, have quit the country.
Sirte Local Council spokesperson Mohammed Al-Amyel told the Libya Herald yesterday: “Some 21 Filipino workers from Ibn Sina Hospital left the country today, as well as 11 Filippino employees from the Sirte Medical Clinic.”
In light of the deteriorating security situation, the Philippine government had already urged its nearly 15,000 citizens to evacuate the country, particularly after last month’s rape of a Filipino nurse in Tripoli and the beheading of a Filipino construction worker in Benghazi.
Most decided not to go, but the continuing chaos has weakened that resolve.
The departures are having a major impact on Libyan health services. Until recently, Filipinos made up 60 percent of the nation’s hospital workers, and the group’s recent mass exodus has led to a massive void in the health care industry.
“Our hospital is facing a huge shortage in both staff and basic medical supplies,” Amyel stated.
“I urge the Ministry of Health, Sirte Local Council and the residents of Sirte to help the hospital in any way they can,” he added.
Ibn Sina hospital is the primary reliable health care facility for patients in Sirte and its environs. [/restrict]
