Public, private hospitals partner to provide specialized treatments

ADDIS ABABA – Ministry of Health (MoH) said that close partnership has been formulated between public and private hospitals to provide specialized treatments and health checks with a view to limiting number of medical tourists and saving foreign currency.

MoH Human Resource Development Director Asegid Samuel told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that local hospitals have been engaged to provide advanced medical treatments to patients in a bid to curb the latter’s travel to overseas.

“The collaboration of public and private hospitals would have played a pivotal role to reduce the high-cost patients incur for overseas medical treatment and save their time and energy thereby contributing to the nation’s forex reserves,” he added.

According the to the director, the required technology, medical supply and training of professionals, prerequisites to limit the number of patients traveling to abroad, are in a good shape.

Ethiopian patients are widely traveled to Thailand, Turkey and India to get specialized treatments including skull operation and nerve treatment, Noting that the knowledge and experience sharing programs that Ethiopian health professionals conducted with foreign counterparts have been interrupted due to COVID-19, Asegid indicated that referral hospitals including Black Lion has faced towards local capacity building schemes.

Meanwhile, privately-owned Silk Road General Hospital and Korea hospitals announced their collaboration with public health facilities to offer free of charge service to low-income group.

Silk Road General Hospital Nurse’s Head, Sister Eyerusalem Teshager said that their hospital has been playing a role in easing the burden public hospitals have been shouldering due to the upsurge of coronavirus pandemic. The hospital will consolidate its engagement for patients to get advanced treatment without difficulty.

BY MISGANAW ASNAKE

The Ethiopian Herald April 29/2021

Recommended For You