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Funding essential to improve public medical services

May 30,2018 - Last updated at May 30,2018

The unannounced visit of His Majesty King Abdullah to Al Bashir Hospital in east Amman on Sunday was not the first of its kind. The King had made similar unannounced visits to this hospital and other hospitals that are providing medical services and care to Jordanians for a small charge.

Even though such visits are not too long in duration, they are long enough for the King to discern the hardships and difficulties that public hospitals face in providing even basic medical treatments to patients who are not covered by private medical insurance.

By talking with doctors, nurses and patients alike, King Abdullah emerged from his latest "sneak" visit to Al Bashir Hospital concerned about the quality of medical care being provided to people. Under international norms, medical care must be accessible, affordable, adequate and free of charge. Yet, in order to improve medical services, hospitals and clinics, there is a pressing need for more funding to them.

At the end of the day, it is the availability of sufficient funds for public hospitals and clinics that can make a difference. No mater how much authorities try to upgrade medical services for minimal charges, the bottom line is always the insufficient funds being made available to them.

With the government on a belly-tightening course, it is not going to be easy to find the necessary financial resources for public medical care. As is, the country will continue to have a two-tier healthcare system: One private, where patients can get the best medical care the country can offer at a price that is not affordable to most people, and the other is the state-run hospitals and clinics, which are affordable to citizens but remain of inferior medical care standard.

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