The Minister of Public Health, Rakan Nasser Al-Din, announced the start of hospital coverage for stroke treatment, during a press conference held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Health, in the presence of the Chair of the National Committee, Professor Natalie Nasr, and a number of committee members.
Nasser Al-Din explained that “a stroke may be experienced by anyone, and it changes his life upside down, from a productive and active person in society to a person who, if he survives, suffers from a permanent disability and is forced to depend on others.” He added that the financial burdens of treatment represent an additional difficulty, which necessitated the establishment of the National Stroke Committee and the launch of a national campaign, starting with the Ministry of Public Health covering 100% of the costs of surgical operations, to include full coverage of the surgical procedure through the catheter to remove the clot, in addition to covering the costs of overnight care in the hospital.
He stressed that “the time factor in this operation is very precise, as it must be performed within the first 24 hours after the stroke occurs,” stressing the importance of coordination with ambulance institutions, emergency rooms, and workers in the Ministry, to ensure that the operation is completed on time. He also pointed to a linking mechanism within the national plan to include all parts of Lebanon, between the large referral hospitals and the peripheral hospitals that will refer patients.
Nasser Al-Din concluded his speech by saying: “This is good news for the Lebanese, and it is an additional step in the operations that we will work to cover as we promised, and it will be announced successively that we will cover more surgical operations.”
For her part, Professor Natalie Nasr explained that the national campaign consists of five stages, and the first stage began with the announcement of coverage of arterial opening operations for large clots. She added that the campaign will focus on awareness, especially the importance of paying attention to blood pressure, because its high blood pressure may lead to clots, calling for attention to any sudden feeling of heaviness in the body, even for a very short period not exceeding a few minutes, because it is considered a warning sign that requires going immediately to the hospital to receive treatment and avoid having a stroke. She also announced the launch of additional awareness materials and activities in the next phase.
For his part, a member of the National Committee, Professor Michel Moawad, said that Minister Nasser al-Din had taken “a tremendous and blessed step to help patients in various parts of the Lebanese Republic,” noting the importance of this step in covering treatment for stroke, which may cause major disabilities if not treated, in addition to its exorbitant cost.
In turn, committee member, Professor Joseph Salama, stressed that this initiative represents the cornerstone and the first steps in the national campaign to help patients with stroke who do not receive appropriate treatment, stressing that “the sure winner is the patient.”
