The provision of health care has become a big issue all over Saudi Arabia, but nowhere more so than the Eastern Province. Riyadh is the site of large governmental hospitals. Jeddah plays host to major private medical centers. Somehow though, the Eastern Province got lost in the whole health care quagmire. The population grew in the region but health care resources didn’t keep pace. Hospitals were planned but not completed. In the scramble to provide advanced medical services, primary health clinics were marginalized. It became obvious that change was needed.
And change has arrived. A new broom has swept in and his name is Dr. Aqeel Al-Ghamdi. Seven months ago he took up the position of director general for health affairs in the Eastern Region. By training Dr. Aqeel is a pediatric nephrologist. However, he is not new to the challenges of health care administration having previously served for two years as the director general of health affairs in Al-Jouf.
Realizing that urgent action was the only way to improve the region’s medical services, Dr. Aqeel quickly made it clear that the days of the status quo were over in his department. Since taking up his new position, he has conducted 38 unannounced visits to hospitals and primary health care centers in the region.
“When I say unannounced, I mean exactly that,” explained Dr. Aqeel. “I want to see the true environment at the facilities I am visiting and that purpose will not be served if the staff knows I am coming. It should be emphasized that by unexpectedly dropping in at a hospital, I am not trying to catch people doing something wrong. In fact, I always hope that I will see our health care professionals performing their duties well, sometimes under difficult circumstances.”
During his unannounced visits, Dr. Aqeel spends time not only checking the buildings and equipment, but also listening to comments both from health care staff and patients undergoing treatment at the various facilities.
The director general has found his impromptu visits extremely valuable when comparing written reports with reality. The comments from health care staff and members of the Eastern Province community have given Dr. Aqeel insights into which areas he must prioritize in budgetary planning over the next few years.
“We have already begun to make improvements,” said Dr. Aqeel. “In the last few months we have received medical equipment exceeding SR100 million for health care facilities in the region. This has been mostly laboratory equipment and radiology equipment and there is still more to come. We have also taken delivery of 23 new vehicles, over 90 percent of which are ambulances. These we have distributed out to regional hospitals to add to the fleet of 26 ambulances that we already had in the Eastern Province.”
Dr. Aqeel also spoke of the new staff training that will begin in the next two months. First, there will be a center set up for instruction in ideal methods in CPR. Initially, all the nurses at government hospitals and health centers will receive resuscitation training. Then the focus will shift to the doctors. After that the CPR training will be offered to non-medical staff in the health directorate and then become available to others in the community. The idea is to increase the number of individuals experienced in handling cardiac emergencies in order to reduce deaths from heart attacks and accidents. Concurrent with the CPR training will be refinement of the region’s disaster plan.
“The Health Care Directorate already has a disaster plan to be used in serious emergencies in the Eastern Region,” commented Dr. Aqeel. “We are working though to improve the policies and procedures. Every 3-4 months every hospital in the region holds drills on various parts of the disaster plan. Based on those drills we check the measures we already have in place and determine what changes, if any, are required. This is an ongoing process.”
The Ministry of Health has just released the appropriations for the new budget of the Eastern Province Heath Care Directorate. Dr. Aqeel was extremely pleased to announce that there will be many improvements both in facilities and care levels. Projects will be moving forward on many different fronts.
“Within two months a final decision will be made on where to place the new 100-bed hospital serving Qateef,” said Dr. Aqeel. “We really would like to put the hospital in the center of Qateef so it is within easy reach of the entire community. However, space is an issue because we need a plot of land 200 meters by 200 meters. We also will be making plans for small hospitals with 50 beds in Ras Tanura, Al-Rogee, Salwa, and Sageera. In 2-3 months we will begin work on those facilities.”
For travelers to and from the Eastern Region, there is welcome news. A SR4 million maintenance contract has been signed for the Prince Sultan Malaysia Hospital, which is 300 km from Dammam and 20 km from Nairiyah. The outpatient clinic and Emergency Room have already opened at this 50-bed facility. Staff recruiting for the hospital wards is under way and the hospital should be fully functional in two months. The Prince Sultan Arayra Hospital between Dammam and Riyadh will also open shortly. Members of the facility’s medical staff have begun to arrive on site. This 50-bed hospital will have special personnel to handle trauma and orthopedic emergencies that result from traffic accidents.
“I would also like to give an update on the King Fahd Specialist Hospital,” said Dr. Aqeel. “It will be completely finished in regards to construction, equipment and staff housing, in the third month of the Hijrah calendar — in about five months.”
Patients at older facilities in the Eastern Province will be glad to hear about budget increases that will enhance the services at those hospitals and clinics. Last year, the budget for non-medical maintenance and cleaning at Dammam Central Hospital was SR22 million. Under the new budget it has been increased to SR45 million. The medical allotment for the Babtain Cardiac Center increased from SR32 million to SR52 million and SR12million has been budgeted for three years maintenance at the center. There will be improvements to the Dammam Medical Tower as the health directorate received SR30 million for new development. That was up from last year’s budget of SR13 million. In general, last year’s medical maintenance budget was SR33 million. This year it is SR41 million. This does not include medical maintenance for Hafir Al-Batin and Al-Ahsa, plus some hospitals have their own budgets for medical maintenance.
Primary health care facilities will not be neglected. Within two months, medical supplies and medical equipment will be renewed at five community health centers. The “91” area of Dammam may benefit from the kindness of a private donor in the building of a primary health care clinic in that area. Final negotiations have begun on the subject.
“Personally, I am anxious to get all these projects under way so that everyone can shift their focus from the past to the future,” emphasized Dr. Aqeel. “Yes, there are serious needs and I want people to see and understand that here at the health directorate we are making strong positive steps to improve medical care at government facilities in the Eastern Region. For myself, I need to get out from under the piles of paperwork that have covered my desk for the last several months. Once all the new projects are launched there will be time for me to spend a few hours each week treating patients again. Being an administrator is important work but my self-satisfaction and the continued development of my own skills, depends on my return to the practical world of medicine, even intermittently. I would like to be involved in every possible way in improving the delivery of effective medical care to the people of the Eastern Region.”
Arab News Features 24 January 2003