The 100-bed Taung Kalay Military Hospital in Hpa-An, Karen state's capital, is unable to accept any more civilian patients, because it is treating a large number of government troops wounded in recent battles, Hpa-An locals reported.
In the past, civilians were also treated at the hospital. However, since the end of 2022, the permission of civilians to go to the hospital has been suspended, a Hpa-An resident who did not want to be named told KIC.
“My father was taken to the hospital due to a health emergency, but he could not be
admitted to the hospital. In the past, residents of Hpa-An, Hlaingbwe and Kawkareik used to go to that hospital for treatment. But now the hospital is no longer accepting new patients. They told us to go to Hpa-An Hospital instead,” he said.
“The medics said that the hospital does not have enough beds for patients. I heard that this happened because of the increasing number of injured soldiers from the frontlines. So they are telling civilian patients to go to Hpa-An Hospital”, the person explained.
On the other hand, the Hpa-An General Hospital does not have enough medicine and professional doctors, so the residents go to the Taung Kalay Military Hospital instead, a local nurse told KIC.“Hpa-An Hospital did not have enough medicine and doctors before. Now the situation is even worse. There are only trainee doctors in the hospital, so the public does not have any confidence in the hospital, ” she said.
A person close to Taung Kalay Military Hospital said that the hospital normally receives and treats civilian patients, but now that fighting has intensified everywhere in Karen state, the number of injured Military Council troops has increased, and the hospital has become overcrowded, so the reception of civilian patients has been suspended.
In Kawkareik, Kyainseikgyi, Thaton and Hpapun areas controlled by the Karen National Union (KNU), there are ongoing clashes between the Military Council and the joint forces of local Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) and People’s Defense Forces (PDF).
Last year In April regime troops suffered so many injuries that the Taung Kalay
Hospital could no longer accommodate patients, and many injured soldiers had to be transported to Hpa-An Hospital for treatment.
