Russian Lawmaker Poklonskaya Says Syria Lacking Medical Staff, Equipment

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published May 07, 2019 | 09:19 PM

Syrian medical institutions are lacking qualified medical personnel and equipment, Russian lawmaker Natalya Poklonskaya told Sputnik

SIMFEROPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th May, 2019) Syrian medical institutions are lacking qualified medical personnel and equipment, Russian lawmaker Natalya Poklonskaya told Sputnik.

On Monday, a delegation from Crimea headed by Poklonskaya arrived in Syria. The main purpose of the visit is to discuss with local authorities the issues related to organizing treatment of Syrian children in sanatorium-resort institutions of Crimea.

"The delegation's program began with a visit to the pediatrics department of the Damascus central hospital with a capacity of 500 beds. This medical institution is in a situation of shortage of qualified medical personnel and equipment," Poklonskaya said.

According to the lawmaker, during the visit, an agreement was reached on cooperation between the Damascus hospital and the Children's Clinical Hospital named after Z. A. Bashlyaeva in Moscow.

"We are talking about the cooperation in the field of high-tech medical care, conducting complex surgeries, treatment of children and exchanging specialists," Poklonskaya noted.

Poklonskaya recalled that Crimea's head Sergei Aksyonov and Syrian Economy and Foreign Trade Minister Samer Khalil had held talks on the sidelines of the Yalta International Economic Forum in April, during which the latter had asked to send about 50 wounded and sick children for treatment in Crimea.

"Today, there is an understanding regarding seven children, who can get qualified treatment at Moscow hospitals. They suffer from ophthalmologic diseases and hearing pathologies. Two children with injuries are in serious condition and their condition requires a speedy transportation to Russia to save their lives," she stressed.

According to the lawmaker, the Syrian side is doing everything possible to arrange their passports as soon as possible, and the Russian embassy in Damascus is also ready to issue visas in the near future.