The Tunisian minister of Health, Faouzi Mehdi, on Saturday dismissed several health sector officials two days after the death of young doctor, Badreddine Aloui, who fell into a broken elevator shaft of the regional hospital in Jendouba, northern Tunisia.

The sacked officials are the director-general of Public Health Structures, director of the Center for Technical Studies of Biomedical and Hospital Maintenance, president of the Medical Committee of the Regional Hospital of Jendoubala, and the acting director of the Regional Hospital of the city.

Tunisian Prime Minister, Hichem Mechichi, visited the Jendouba regional hospital on Friday to learn about the situation of this health structure following the accidental death of the young doctor.

During his visit, people expressed their dissatisfaction in a sit-in protest.

Hospitals in Tunisia have been in an advanced state of deterioration for decades, coinciding with the proliferation of private clinics that are not even within the reach of the middle class because of exorbitant fees charged patients.

The public health system in Tunisia is made up of 167 hospitals, including 35 in the interior regions and 2,100 health centres for basic care, according to figures provided by the ministry of Health.

The main problems in the sector are ageing infrastructure and equipment, rampant corruption and the unavailability of means of care for most structures.

This situation has often led to deaths in hospitals due to negligence or lack of means such as the horrible death of 11 infants in a hospital in the capital in March 2019. (PANA/NAN)