Bethlehem / PNN /
The Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation Hospital has decided to suspend the admission of patients referred by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, amid a deepening debt crisis owed by the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance that has exceeded 80 million shekels. The hospital said the move was a “forced decision” aimed at protecting what remains of its ability to continue operating.
Eli Shihadeh, director general of the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation Hospital, said the crisis with the Ministry of Health is not new, having begun several years ago and intensified sharply over the past five years. The situation, he said, has led to the accumulation of debts that have placed a heavy burden on the hospital and weakened its ability to meet basic obligations.
Staff dues exceed 13 million shekels
Speaking to PNN on the “Sabahna Ghayr” programme broadcast by Palestine News Network, Shihadeh said that outstanding payments owed to doctors and hospital staff alone have exceeded 13 million shekels. He noted that the society, founded in 1960 to serve Palestinians, has found itself facing a severe financial crisis as a result of reduced financial referrals from the Ministry of Health over the past three years.
Bank loans and additional financial burdens
Shihadeh said the hospital had previously been forced to issue urgent cheques to meet its commitments, only for those cheques to be returned, creating problems with the Palestine Monetary Authority and local banks. This pushed the hospital to resort to bank loans, incurring additional interest costs that further deepened the crisis.
A long-discussed decision
Shihadeh stressed that the decision to halt referrals was not taken suddenly, but followed years of discussions that intensified over the past year to 18 months. These included communications with the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance, the presidency, political factions, the Bethlehem governor and security bodies at various levels, without reaching any practical solutions.
He said the hospital administration had repeatedly contacted the president and the prime minister’s office through official correspondence in an effort to resolve the crisis, but received no response. The most recent intervention, he added, came from Dr Ramzi Khazri during a visit to the hospital, though those efforts failed to produce tangible results, further compounding the crisis.
According to Shihadeh, the Ministry of Health has transferred only about 400,000 shekels to the hospital over the past six to seven months, while the hospital provides monthly medical services valued at around two million shekels. He said this imbalance left the hospital with no option but to temporarily suspend referrals until a genuine financial solution is found.
Serving 50,000 patients annually
Shihadeh said the Bethlehem Arab Society for Rehabilitation Hospital serves more than 50,000 patients annually from across the West Bank. The hospital had also been preparing to provide medical services to residents of the Gaza Strip should conditions improve, but mounting debts and a lack of liquidity have made this impossible.
He warned that the ongoing crisis has directly affected the hospital’s ability to secure medicines and medical equipment, pointing to a real risk of shortages that could threaten patient safety and the quality of care.
Regarding the scope of the decision, Shihadeh said some departments will stop accepting referred cases, including rehabilitation units and the cardiology department, while emergency cases will continue to be received, particularly acute heart attack cases where life-saving intervention is required.
He noted that between 30% and 35% of cases treated at the hospital are referred from Beit Jala Governmental Hospital, adding that the Ministry of Health could, if it reorganised its arrangements, refer patients to other public or private hospitals, or reach a fair financial settlement with the Arab Society.
Impact on suppliers
Shihadeh said the crisis has also strained relations with suppliers of equipment and medicines, with some companies threatening to withdraw their equipment due to unpaid dues. At the forefront is the cardiac catheterisation unit, for which the hospital owes about 3.5 million shekels to the supplying company. Nearly 100% of cases using the unit, he said, are referred from government hospitals.
He added that local suppliers are no longer able to continue deliveries, while the company supplying the catheterisation equipment — an Israeli firm — has increased pressure on the hospital as the financial crisis persists.
Shihadeh said the hospital has been forced to take austerity measures, including cutting expenditures, reducing the number of beds and downsizing staff, leading to the departure of several doctors and medical personnel. These measures, he said, have negatively affected the level of health services, not only at the Arab Society hospital but across the private healthcare sector.
He added that the hospital has worked over the past three years on internal restructuring and improving service quality, but financial constraints have prevented the completion of these efforts.
‘A result, not a choice’
Shihadeh said there is also a dispute with the Ministry of Health over what he described as unfair distribution of financial dues, noting that some hospitals receive payments while the Arab Society does not, despite the volume of services it provides.
He stressed that the decision to suspend referrals was not a choice, but an inevitable result of the escalating financial crisis, taken to preserve a minimum level of operational continuity and medical service quality.
Shihadeh said the hospital has long stood by the community and met citizens’ healthcare needs for decades, expressing hope for an urgent response from the Ministry of Health to resolve the financial crisis and allow the resumption of patient admissions and the continuation of vital services.
