HIBAPRESS – Fikri Wlidali
The regional office of the Independent Union of Nurses in Al Hoceima has sounded the alarm regarding what it described as a "huge shortage" of several essential medicines, supplies, and medical equipment in the region's health institutions. It warned of the repercussions of this situation on the quality of health services and the working conditions of medical and nursing staff.
In a statement of condemnation issued on September 10, the union stated that the situation affects a number of health institutions, most notably the Mohammed VI Regional Hospital in Ajdir, the local hospitals in Al Hoceima and Targuist, as well as a group of health centers in the region.
The regional office considered that the shortage of medicines and medical supplies is now affecting, according to them, the normal functioning of health facilities and the services provided to patients, pointing out that a number of these institutions, until recently, had significant quantities of various supplies and medicines.
The union expressed its surprise at the timing of this situation with the transfer of the management of health institutions from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection to the Territorial Health Group of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region, demanding clarification of the reasons for this decline and the readiness of the new management system to ensure the continuity of supply and the provision of necessary needs.
The union warned that the continuation of the shortage would increase the suffering of patients and their families, and would also put health professionals in difficult professional constraints in the absence of some necessary means to perform their duties.
In this context, the union called for urgent and immediate intervention to provide the necessary medicines, equipment, and medical supplies, as well as to ensure the regular supply of health institutions, and to clarify the reasons for the recorded imbalances.
It also affirmed its rejection of holding health professionals responsible for any imbalances related to the absence of necessary means and capabilities for work, holding the entities responsible for management accountable for the potential repercussions of the continuation of the situation.
The regional office of the union concluded its statement by affirming that citizens' health cannot tolerate delay or negligence, announcing its reservation of its right to resort to various legitimate forms of struggle in defense of the public health sector, patients' rights, and the dignity and working conditions of health professionals.
