Iraqi deputies demanded to call the victims of Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital "martyrs", Statement
Shafaq News / The Parliamentary Health Committee said, on Monday, that “poor executive performance” is the main reason for the fire in Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital.
The Parliament’s Media Department said in a statement the Parliament held a special session to discuss the repercussions of the Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital incident.
According to the statement, the Speaker of Parliament Muhammad Al-Halbousi offered condolences to the Iraqi people and the families of the victims of Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad, adding that his deputy, Dr. Bashir Al-Haddad, will represent the House of Representatives within the investigative committee formed by the Prime Minister in investigating the incident.
Meanwhile, a number of deputies called for addressing the problems facing health institutions in Iraq such as the administrative and financial corruption.
The deputies demanded to call the victims of Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital "martyrs" and to compensate the wounded, as well as to treat serious cases outside Iraq and rehabilitate hospitals.
They also asked to stop the overlap in powers between the Ministry of Health and the administrations of the governorates, and to hold accountable those who decided to choose Ibn Al-Khatib Hospital for receiving Covid-19 patients despite that the building is very old.
For its part, the Parliamentary Health and Environment Committee indicated in a preliminary report on the Hospital that it investigated the incident and resulted in that poor performance in the executive sector, and the hospital building which does not contain a central fire system, as well as the lack of regular monitoring and examination by the Civil Defense Directorate are the main reason of the fire.
The Committee pointed out that “the hospital’s protection and management personnel are not controlling professionally the number of companions and visitors of internal patients, which caused gathered crowds inside the hospital. “
“The personnel used electric heaters and cooked food inside the halls in the hospitals, and the oxygen bottles are accumulated also, in addition to the lack of financial allocations to appoint more service personnel are also a part of the problem.” It concluded.
Yesterday, a fire at the COVID-19 hospital in Baghdad took at least 80 lives, and wounded more than 100, as well as forced some people to leap through windows out of the burning building.
