Hospital fire leaves Aaridha residents in limbo

JAZAN — The burning of a second public hospital in Jazan has sent shockwaves among citizens and residents in the region as it would negatively affect health services. Aaridha General Hospital was gutted on Saturday as the only public health facility in the governorate, which has a population of over 100,000, went out of service. Nabeel Ghawi, spokesman of the Health Department in Jazan, said efforts have been stepped up to prepared the gutted hospital to provide normal service within two days. “We have instructed the primary healthcare center in Aaridha to receive all cases until the hospital becomes fully ready to welcome patients,” he added. This is the second public hospital in the Jazan region hit by fire within year, said Al-Watan Arabic daily in a report published on Monday. An investigation on the first fire incident is still on. The blaze at Jazan General Hospital killed 24 people and injured 123 others. The incident raised several questions on the reason for breaking out the fire. Police have cordoned off Aaridha Hospital following the fire after containing the blaze. Security officers have launched an investigation to find out how the fire broke out. Deputy Governor of Jazan Dr. Saad Al-Muqrin and Assistant Deputy Governor for Security Affairs Sultan Al-Sudairy visited the hospital on Sunday. They have urged relevant agencies to present a detailed report on the damages caused by the fire and its reason. Mohammed Sahib, a Bangladeshi patient, told Al-Watan that the fire broke out while he was in deep slumber. “I got up hearing the cries of patients and was taken to another hospital by the Red Crescent volunteers,” he told the Arabic daily. A security guard at the hospital commended the coordinated efforts made by various government and private agencies and hospital staff to transport patients from the fire-hit hospital to other hospitals such as Abu Arish, Eidabi and Armed Forces Hospitals. “I have seen doctors and nurses extending their support while evacuating patients and providing oxygen and other support to needy patients,” the guard said. Volunteers broke glasses of windows to ensure free flow of smoke to avoid cases of suffocation. Civil Defense officers toiled hard to extinguish fire and suck smoke. They have also evacuated 42 patients who were admitted at the hospital within a record time, the guard added. Aaridha governorate covers a vast area in the Jazan region with three cities and 500 villages. Its population has crossed 100,000 but does not have enough health facilities except this old general hospital, which was established more than 20 years ago. The project to construct a new hospital in Aaridha has been disrupted for the last 12 years, the paper said. Health authorities in the region have not listened to the demand of its people to implement the new hospital, which is essential to meet their health requirements.