Hospital under ventilator as EWA disconnects power

Lights went off in a private hospital in the Kingdom after the Electricity and Water Authority (EWA) disconnected power supply owing to unpaid bills. Tribune visited the hospital and found it was not functioning with no patients and doctors and other staff. Sources confirmed that the hospital owed big amounts in pending bills to the EWA. Though Tribune tried to contact the hospital management, the attempts ended in vain. Located in the Northern Governorate, the hospital had been allegedly going through tough financial situations during the past couple of years, pushing its staff to go on a strike more than once after not receiving salaries for months. Some staff alleged that they did not receive salaries of 18 months. When contacted earlier, the hospital management told Tribune that it was undergoing a restructuring and the financial and other issues facing the hospital would be solved soon.