JEDDAH, 10 November 2002 — Medical authorities at the Health Ministry have stopped referring patients from other hospitals to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Jeddah because of KFSH’s financial crisis, informed sources said.
They said more than 16,000 patients — most of them suffering from chronic diseases — who are now receiving treatment at the hospital have expressed fears that their medical files would not be renewed.
As a result of financial difficulties, the hospital could not pay salaries to its staff including doctors and nurses last month as well as dues of companies who provided medicines and other medical supplies to the hospital.
The sources also said that a number of experienced doctors and consultants had left the hospital.
Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed allayed fears of the public saying KFSH will resume accepting patients from other hospitals shortly. He said the present condition will not continue for long.
In a previous statement, the governor had said that the salary problem at the hospital will be solved within three months.
“The problem of delay in salaries at the hospital will end when the government announces its new general budget,” the governor said.
“The delay in salaries will not be repeated as the government extends its full support to the hospital,” the prince told reporters.
“Beginning next year, a more stable cash flow is expected, thereby assuring timely payroll disbursement,” a circular issued to the hospital staff said. The hospital requires SR22 million to pay its 1,800 employees.
Abdul Majeed commended hospital staff for the patience they showed during the salary crisis over the past months.
Prince Abdul Majeed also commended the hospital’s doctors and paramedical staff for their great services, which helped the organization win an international prize.
The hospital has received 99.4 rating from the Joint Commission International Accreditation of the United States.
Meanwhile, medical sources at the hospital told Arab News that the hospital stopped receiving patients from other hospitals about two months ago. Medical authorities in Tabuk, Madinah, Taif, Jizan, Baha and Makkah usually make refer patients to the Jeddah hospital.
Patients suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer and requiring complicated surgeries are normally referred to the hospital.
Some cases have been transferred to King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh.
At present, there are more than 30,000 medical files at the hospital in addition to 16,000 referral cases.
Some 250 patients are admitted daily to the hospital, which has conducted more than 800 open-heart surgeries.
In an attempt to generate cash flow, the hospital has opened an after-hours private pay clinic and in-patient ward.
This put the hospital, which was under the umbrella of the government for the last two years, in direct competition with private hospitals and clinics. The expected profit failed to materialize and had the opposite of its intended effect by exacerbating the cash flow crisis.
