By Groum Abate

The Addis Ababa Health Bureau is going to register private hospitals in the city in the next few weeks after devising a new standard.
Wolderufael Dirar, head of health institutions inspection and quality control in the Addis Ababa Health Bureau (AAHB) told Capital that the need for re-licensing the private hospitals in Addis Ababa is to ensure the hospitals meet the standards that the bureau has set.
The move comes after private hospitals came under fire following what happened to the late legendary singer Tilahun Gesesse in his last hours.
Two private clinics are alleged to have been under-staffed and under-equipped when they had to deal with the singer’s emergency medical problems. The case is under investigation by experts from the city’s health bureau and the Ministry of Health (MoH). The probe was ordered by the minister of health, Tewodros Adhanom (PhD).
The private sector is taking on an increasingly large share in the provision of medical care. The health service coverage of the city was 143.76 per cent in 2006.
However, there are an increasing number of signs that the sector is getting out of control, as some of the institutions are doing business without having regard to the patients they are supposed to take care of.
Addis Ababa has a number of hospitals. These hospitals are administered by Government departments (such as Addis Ababa City Health Bureau, Ministry of Health and Ministry of Defense) as well as by non-governmental organisations and private investors.
The city’s health bureau is also conducting surprise visits to the city’s public and private hospitals and clinics to examine their operational capacity during night and holiday times.
The four strong group will conduct the visits and report back to the city’s inspection and controlling unit led by wolderufael.
It is said to be part of the ongoing effort the city’s health bureau is conducting to control illegal and unethical conduct by some medical facilities in the city.

(Capital)

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