TEHRAN — Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili visited Haft-e Tir hospital at Rey on Tuesday and met face to face with healthcare workers, discussing their issues and problems.

On the sidelines of the visit, he said that the various departments do not fulfill their duties towards the healthcare system, and the burden will be on the shoulders of the medical staff. He added that the health reform plan implemented by the Rouhani administration was full of problems.

“The issue of health is not only the responsibility of the Ministry of Health, and all agencies must play their role in this regard. If other bodies such as the Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Industry, Education, State-run TV, and other agencies do not perform their duties in the healthcare system properly, the burden of the health system will rely heavily on the medical staff,” he stated.

Referring to his meetings with health officials in the past eight years, Jalili added that he believes that special attention should be paid to the health sector.

“The important role of the president is to mobilize other organizations in performing their duties towards the health system so that all the challenges are not borne by the medical staff,” he remarked.

Jalili criticized the contracts of the healthcare workers, stating that it is not acceptable for several people to do the same job in a nursing station or a hospital, but their salaries, benefits, leaves, etc. are different. 

“The type of employment contracts in the medical staff is flawed and needs to be corrected,” he added. 

The presidential contender stated that the medical staff created an epic during the coronavirus pandemic and showed that they are willing to sacrifice their lives to help and save the people, and Iran will always honor the memory of “the martyrs of health.”

Jalili stressed, "People who work in the healthcare system are not robots and should not be expected to solve problems in the treatment sector alone.”

This is not even so in the military, and if a person watches over a military base for 4 hours, he rests for 2 hours and this should be so in the healthcare system, he stated. Not all the pressure should be on the medical staff, he added.

“The government should have a plan to improve the health sector, and it should not just look to increase the maximum budget for this sector. The health network project was one of the most successful projects after the revolution, which was carried out in the health sector and had very good effects,” he remarked.

Jalili stated that over the past eight years, he has held numerous meetings to review the health reform plan, and “in fairness, this plan was full of flaws.” 

He added, “If the plan is not comprehensive and fair and does not take into account all the dimensions, perhaps only a part of the health system will be satisfied with it. We must have a plan in this field so that everyone feels satisfied and has the motivation to participate seriously and actively in it, and the output is to improve the health system.”

The presidential contender also said, “We have many amenities and tourism facilities that are available to the public sector and should be distributed fairly so that everyone can use them." 

He believes that about two-thirds of the public sector’s housing facilities are unused, and only one-third is used. 

“Meanwhile, the medical staff of public hospitals complain about the lack of access to these facilities,” he remarked, referring to his plan to send people to public housing amenities for free if elected president. 

The presidential election will be held on June 18. 
 

SA/PA