JEDDAH, 2 May — The primary health centers here are being managed by officials of the Ministry of Health or former nurses and technicians who have little or no medical knowledge, according to a study published by Al-Watan daily yesterday.
These administrators receive high salaries, but they provide a low level of service. There are even directors at a number of the health centers who have only a primary school certificate.
A woman doctor at a health center in the city said: "There are several negative factors which make us unable to perform our duties satisfactorily."
In addition to office administrators lacking understanding of clinical problems, the labs in the centers lack basic equipment, or have faulty equipment. If the equipment is in good condition, the chemicals required for the tests may be out of stock, one doctor said.
"In the event of emergencies, we send patients to the Regional Laboratory at Al-Mahjar. However, since most of them are poor they cannot afford to pay the taxi fare so they don’t go — meaning they return a few days later dangerously ill," the doctor continued.
The laboratory at the center, where the woman doctor works, has been out of order for the past year. She also revealed that the X-ray machine in the center produces images of very poor quality. As a consequence, patients are being sent to the King Fahd Hospital, thus causing further delays in diagnosis and treatment.
The dental clinic is in even greater disrepair. The dentist spends the working hours refusing to examine patients properly because his dental equipment is out of order.
Most centers operate in old rented buildings without lifts — terrible news for the many patients who cannot climb the stairs.
Seriously-ill expatriate patients face another problem: they are not allowed to be referred to government hospitals.
"On several occasions we have tried to help them by telephoning officials at government hospitals. But the reply is that if there aren’t enough beds for the Saudi patients, how can these expatriates be admitted?" the doctor said.
