16 August 2014
Getting an appointment in government hospitals is not an easy task. It takes time and effort, especially in large cities such as Makkah, Riyadh, Taif and Jeddah. This leaves private hospitals as the only option for many patients.
The budget for the Health Ministry for 2014 exceeded SR54 billion, but patients still have to wait for 260,000 minutes, or six months, on average to get a 15-minute appointment with a government doctor.
In many government hospitals in large cities getting an appointment with a consultant in specialized universities is a worry for patients and their families, because of the lack of specialized medical staff and clinics in comparison with the growing number of the Kingdom's population.
Umm Ghada, whose child suffers from behavioral disorder and has autism, went to the children's hospital in Taif, where after conducting routine tests she was referred to the genetic disease clinic. She was surprised to be given an appointment after six months to see the specialist. She tried to bring the date forward because of the seriousness of her daughter's condition but all her attempts failed.
Abdulillah Al-Yahya told a local newspaper that he went to make an appointment for his mother in King Saud Medical City in Al-Shumaisi. The appointment desk employee told him to leave his details to be called and notified about his appointment. "I received a phone call to go and register the appointment, which was set between four and six months from the date of registration," he said.
He confirmed the problem of delayed appointments is a routine procedure in the majority of outpatient clinics and X-ray departments. Many patients died before their appointments because of the long waiting time, he added.
A worker at a government hospital in Riyadh said getting an appointment used to be much easier, but lately waiting periods have got longer. "During the coming period, if there is no mechanism to reduce waiting periods of getting appointments, this hospital will suffer the same fate as other hospitals, and waiting for an appointment will take between five and six months," he said.
Dr. Mansour Al-Hawasi of the Health Ministry said officials of the ministry are doing their best to solve the problem of government hospital appointments. "I hope you visit the referral center to view the size of work on the ground and report what you see," he told reporters during a reception.
Getting an appointment in government hospitals is not an easy task. It takes time and effort, especially in large cities such as Makkah, Riyadh, Taif and Jeddah. This leaves private hospitals as the only option for many patients.
The budget for the Health Ministry for 2014 exceeded SR54 billion, but patients still have to wait for 260,000 minutes, or six months, on average to get a 15-minute appointment with a government doctor.
In many government hospitals in large cities getting an appointment with a consultant in specialized universities is a worry for patients and their families, because of the lack of specialized medical staff and clinics in comparison with the growing number of the Kingdom's population.
Umm Ghada, whose child suffers from behavioral disorder and has autism, went to the children's hospital in Taif, where after conducting routine tests she was referred to the genetic disease clinic. She was surprised to be given an appointment after six months to see the specialist. She tried to bring the date forward because of the seriousness of her daughter's condition but all her attempts failed.
Abdulillah Al-Yahya told a local newspaper that he went to make an appointment for his mother in King Saud Medical City in Al-Shumaisi. The appointment desk employee told him to leave his details to be called and notified about his appointment. "I received a phone call to go and register the appointment, which was set between four and six months from the date of registration," he said.
He confirmed the problem of delayed appointments is a routine procedure in the majority of outpatient clinics and X-ray departments. Many patients died before their appointments because of the long waiting time, he added.
A worker at a government hospital in Riyadh said getting an appointment used to be much easier, but lately waiting periods have got longer. "During the coming period, if there is no mechanism to reduce waiting periods of getting appointments, this hospital will suffer the same fate as other hospitals, and waiting for an appointment will take between five and six months," he said.
Dr. Mansour Al-Hawasi of the Health Ministry said officials of the ministry are doing their best to solve the problem of government hospital appointments. "I hope you visit the referral center to view the size of work on the ground and report what you see," he told reporters during a reception.
© Arab News 2014
