His Majesty King Abdullah on Tuesday directed concerned authorities to start as soon as possible renovation and expansion works in a public hospital in the northern Ramtha town.
Visiting the 56-bed Ramtha Public Hospital that serves a population of some 150,000, the King set a deadline of six months for the agencies to complete the overhaul of the hospital, which also hosts outpatient clinics.
One of the major problems the hospital has been struggling to address is the high number of patients seeking treatment, said the hospital director, Hussein Ayed, adding that the medics have to deal with at least 250 outpatients on a daily basis.
Ayed, who said a 100 per cent occupancy is always the case, attributed such pressure to the fact that there is no comprehensive health centre in the town.
The director said that only 5 per cent of the hospital's needs of medical equipment is available and existing equipment is outdated and mostly dysfunctional.
He added the hospital also needs a modern emergency room and basic wards such as physiotherapy, psychotherapy, neurology and dental medicine. The hospital's maternity ward is in need of incubators as the current ones are worn out.
Ayed added that an ICU has been built recently at the hospital but is not operational yet, pending the provision of the necessary equipment and staff.
The King ordered supplying the hospital, which is staffed by 258 medics and other employees, with all its needs.
Meeting later with officials and community leaders at the district governor's offices in the town, the King said the makeover the hospital is to undergo is meant to provide Ramtha residents with better healthcare services.
“People are not supposed to wait for a long time to receive medical treatment… I visited the hospital and I assure you the situation will be better. I will visit you six months from now to open the hospital after the renovation and expansion works are finished.”
King Abdullah listened to other complaints related to public services. Subsequently, he issued directives for concerned authorities to carry out maintenance work for schools and supply the youth clubs with their needs to function properly and serve the area's young people.
Local community leaders spoke of crowded, rented and old school buildings. They also called for increasing the number of seats allocated for Ramtha residents at the nearby Jordan University of Science and Technology, among other needs.
The Jordan Times