JEDDAH, 12 April 2003 — Patients are increasingly critical of the emergency departments in public hospitals, describing procedure there as often cursory and calling for a substantial overhaul of the system, Al-Madinah reported.
“This is my first time in the emergency room of a public hospital,” Abdullah Al-Malki told the newspaper. “The doctor examined me and wrote a prescription without really assessing what was wrong with me. There are no real doctors in this section. There is only one on duty — a general physician.”
Abdullah Al-Zahrani described the section as disorganized. “No matter what is wrong with you, the doctor will prescribe Panadol and Fevadol. These places are supposed to provide high quality services. A medical inspection team should come here to see how they work.”
Waleed Basenan described medical services provided in the department as poor. “The doctor is overextended with the sheer number of cases he has to handle. It affects the quality of his work.”
Ahmad Al-Shehri agreed that the quality of service in the section needed to be reviewed. “This section is the most important part of the hospital, so it needs special attention. Most of the doctors we see here are not specialized. This is very dangerous because human lives are at stake here.”
However, Ahmad Al-Matrafi, who visited a public hospital to get his son’s broken arm fixed, declared himself satisfied. “The only thing they need here is management staff to make sure there is no delay in admitting patients.”
Muhammad Halawani, a resident doctor, said that most doctors working in the emergency section were experienced and able to handle any emergency. “The problem is with the patients. They cause trouble for the doctor because they are impatient and always in a hurry. They do not trust the doctor who examines them.
“When the patients come in here they are already so worked up they sometimes attack us,” he said. “We admit patients without delay,” he added. “Most people who come in here are not emergencies at all, so we deal with them as necessary. But the patient’s family take this as mistreatment. That is the main problem.”
