Escalating Health Crisis in Iran; Healthcare Staff Leaving Public Hospitals

The website 'Rooidad24' reported, citing several heads of public hospitals, that they are concerned about the 'healthcare staff leaving the public sector.' In its report on Monday, November 8, it stated that Mohsen Khalaghian, the head of the public hospital 'Firouzgar' in Tehran, highlighted the problems of public hospitals at the 'Palliative Care' conference and warned of the danger of 'bankruptcy and closure' of these hospitals. He mentioned that '58 percent' of the nurses at Firouzgar Hospital have left due to 'unrealistic tariffs.' Abbas Abadi, the nursing deputy of the Minister of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education of the Islamic Republic, previously announced that there is a shortage of about '70,000 nursing staff across all sectors.' The website 'Shafa Online' reported on November 2 about the nursing shortage in Iran, stating that according to the World Health Organization's guidelines, there should be 50 nurses for every 10,000 people in healthcare centers and hospitals, but the latest statistics in Iran indicate that 'there are 19 nurses for every 10,000 people in hospitals.' Shafa Online compared this data with several other countries, such as Qatar with 119 nurses, Turkey with 24 nurses, and Ireland with 155 nurses. Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, the Secretary-General of the Nursing House, pointed out that 2,000 to 3,000 nurses migrate from Iran annually, stating, 'We have nurses to recruit, but they do not come to work with a salary of 12 million tomans. How can we expect a nursing staff to work in the busiest emergency rooms of Tehran with such salaries?' According to Rooidad24, the head of Firouzgar Hospital also expressed concern about the 'departure of the academic staff of public hospitals,' adding that the continuation of this trend will lead to a 'crisis in the situation of public hospitals.' Previously, Hossein Ghanavati, the head of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, also expressed concern about this situation, stating that 'the cost of living does not match the income of nurses in public hospitals,' leading to their migration. Ezzat Heydarpoor, a physician and former member of Parliament, stated in October that every day we hear 'a professor or associate professor from medical sciences faculties' is migrating, mentioning that '10,000 individuals' from the medical staff of Iran (doctors, nurses, midwives) migrate annually. The ILNA news agency reported on November 6 that 'for each hour of overtime, nurses receive between 12,000 to 16,000 tomans, and numerous criticisms of these low amounts have yet to yield any results.' The same news agency reported on October 12 about the low rates of 'mandatory overtime,' stating that nurses must perform '130 hours of overtime' for a payment of '1,900,000 tomans.' The slogan 'We won't leave until we get our rights' was heard at a gathering of hospital nurses in Isfahan. The endless hardships of nurses; 130 hours of mandatory overtime for less than 2 million tomans. The 'selection' circle of the Islamic Republic has tightened; disqualifications in the nursing system elections continue. Protests by nurses and retirees continue in several cities in Iran: 'They have looted the country.' Despite 20,000 to 30,000 unemployed nurses, the alarm for a nursing shortage has sounded again in Iran. Protests and strikes for livelihood; workers, nurses, retirees, and farmers gathered. While the migration of nurses continues, government policies exacerbate 'division.'