Health sector well on the way to recovery

AMMAN — Head of the Private Hospitals Association Fawzi Al-Hammouri said that the sector has recovered by approximately 70 percent compared to the pre-pandemic levels, and stressed that there are investment opportunities in this field where Jordan is advanced by both regional and international standards, Khaberni reported. According to a statement issued Sunday by the association, Hammouri said that investment in the health care sector is helped by the investment environment draft bill, which grants complete exemptions to investors. Hammouri also said that 60 percent of Jordanian hospitals are private, have an investment value of over JD4 billion, employ more than 35,000 employee, and help employ 60,000 others in supporting sectors. He said that the Kingdom used to receive more than 250,000 patients per year before the pandemic, but the sector suffered during and after the pandemic due to the travel restrictions imposed by some countries. Jordan has 71 private hospitals, 33 public hospital, 15 military hospitals and two university hospitals. “Jordan has gained a good reputation in primary health care, with the Ministry of Health contributing to the elimination of transmissible diseases due to the use of vaccines for Jordanians and non-Jordanians, having the lowest percentage of communicable diseases in the world,”  said Hammouri, who urged participation in the largest forum on therapeutic tourism in the world, The International Healthcare Travel Forum 2022, which is being organized by the Private Hospitals Association under the sponsorship of His Majesty King Abdullah, on November 19–21. Meanwhile, according to Ad-Dustour daily, since the beginning of 2022 there has been an increase in assaults against doctors, the latest on a doctor at Al-Bashir Hospital Thursday night. Since the beginning of 2022, the Ministry of Health has registered 37 cases of assault against health care personnel; in 2019 there were 81 cases of assault, 44 cases in 2020, and 50 cases in 2021. The Jordan Medical Association  has recorded four cases of assaults in eight days, starting with the beginning of the summer months when the attacks increased as the number of patients in government hospitals increased; some cases, especially those of verbal abuse, are resolved amicably, are not recorded and are not reported. Head of the association Ziyad Z’ubi had asked for increasing the punishment of those who assault health personnel during the performance of their official duties, and for ensuring an appropriate environment for health workers to perform their work. He added that the association will conduct a thorough and detailed study of the issue, and discuss it with the pertinent authorities in order to arrive at the necessary legal means and legislation to reduce this phenomenon. Z’ubi said that assaults on doctors are “alien to our society, our customs and traditions, and constitute a clear violation of the law and a threat to the lives of doctors”. Read more National news Jordan News   (window.globalAmlAds = window.globalAmlAds || []).push('admixer_async_509089081')   (window.globalAmlAds = window.globalAmlAds || []).push('admixer_async_552628228') Read More Industry Minister: US Tariff Regime Global in Scope, Not Jordan-Specific Extension of Registration Period for the General Secondary Examination by 3 Days 2.9 Million Transactions Processed Through Comprehensive Government Service Centers by March