TEHRAN- Iranian Health Minister said on Wednesday that Iran requires an additional 80,000 hospital beds to be supplied at a cost of 50,000 billion rials (nearly $ 1.5 billion), IRNA reported.

Hassan Qazizadeh Hashemi who was speaking on the sidelines of his trip to the city of Kashan, Isfahan Province, added that with the budget allocation and government’s help, it might take about 30 years to supply such a huge number of beds.
He also expressed that it is time for hospitals to undergo a change in their management and their services, paving the way for the private sector to play a pivotal role in this regard.
“This issue needs a realistic policy-making on one hand and a change in infrastructures on the other,” Hashemi said.
“We need a special attitude to buy private sector’s healthcare services in order not to harm the state and the private sections.”

“We attempt to fulfill government’s pledges in healthcare section and will hold on to whatever it promises,” he added
During his trip, Qazizadeh Hashemi inaugurated a center for dialysis and special diseases, and an ICU at Seyyed-al Shohada Hospital in Aran va Bidgol city.

The city of Aran va Bidgol is situated 200 kilometers North of Isfahan.