Member of Parliament Khalid Hatmi submitted a written question to the Minister of Health and Social Protection regarding the urgent measures that will be taken to expand the maternity ward at Al-Mokhtar Al-Susi Hospital in Taroudant and to provide the necessary human and logistical resources, particularly in light of the transformation currently underway in the new healthcare system.
Hatmi explained that the Taroudant region is the largest in the Kingdom of Morocco, comprising 89 local communities and a population of nearly one million people; as the population grows, so do the residents’ healthcare needs.
Hatmi also noted that, despite His Majesty’s launch of the health coverage initiative—which will extend to all Moroccans without exception—healthcare services in Taroudant, as the provincial capital and home to the only regional hospital (Mokhtar Souss Hospital), remains very modest and requires a review and swift implementation of necessary reforms, particularly regarding the gynecology and obstetrics departments.
The member of parliament noted that since the Maternity Unit was established in 1956—and has been expanded on only two occasions: the first 40 years later, in 1996, and the second in 2011—neither of its two departments, gynecology nor obstetrics, has received the attention it deserves.
In this regard, it should be noted that healthcare services in these two areas remain extremely limited, provided by a small staff consisting of 3 doctors (gynecologists), 1 general practitioner, 24 nurses (midwives), and 1 certified midwife, while there is a shortage of 12 additional staff members, including midwives and obstetric nurses, as well as 8 support staff, including security guards and cleaning staff, not to mention the modest facilities, which consist of no more than 8 delivery rooms.
The member of parliament cited as evidence the modest scale of the department’s achievements and its inability to accommodate the number of patients seeking care there; last year, the number of cases handled did not exceed 6,682, including 4,753 vaginal deliveries and 1,202 cesarean sections.
Khadija Al-Rahali
