HOSPITALS in Lebanon are at a breaking point as supplies run low, health workers said today while desperately fighting to keep abreast of a surge in coronavirus cases.

Doctors at Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the country’s largest public-sector health facility, reported that they are drenched in sweat while checking patients lying on stretchers in the reception area as the air conditioning has been turned off to save fuel.

Though they are exhausted, medical staff must scramble to find scarce supplies as well as treating patients. As of today, the hospital has been running on its back-up generators and relies on donations from political parties and international aid groups for diesel.

The quality of Lebanon’s healthcare has plunged in quality in recent years due to multiple crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic, economic meltdown and government corruption.

Junior doctor Ghaidaa al-Saddik said that she was struggling to admit new patients due to the shortages.

She said that many patients are being asked to bring their own medicines, such as steroids, while others are being discharged too soon, often to homes where power cuts last for days.

Nurse Mustafa Harqaus accused the government of “leaving people in the middle of the sea with no rescue boat.

“Some people understand that the shortages are not our fault, but many don’t.”

About 2,500 doctors and nurses have left Lebanon this year, according to reports. At Rafik Hariri, at least 30 per cent of the doctors and more than 10 per cent of the nurses have gone.

Hospital director Firas Abiad said he struggles to remain positive for his staff.

“Our country is disintegrating in front of our eyes,” he said. “The most difficult part is [that] we can’t seem to be able to find a way to stop this deterioration.”