JEDDAH, 14 January 2005 — The lack of coordination and bad scheduling of patient visits at the Eye Hospital in Jeddah caused huge overcrowding. Bad scheduling saw more than 2,000 patients arriving at the hospital on the first day of the new lunar month of Dul Hijjah. It turned out that the staff in charge of appointments asked every patient who wanted to see a doctor to come on that particular day to get an appointment.
The result was unprecedented overcrowding both inside and around the hospital that blocked traffic in all the streets leading to the hospital. Some patients fainted and fistfights broke out among the crowds and between motorists outside. The hospital management said the problem was the result of a mistake in scheduling outpatient visits, press reports said. The scene was dominated by anger as hundreds upon hundreds arrived at the hospital only to discover they have all been given the same date to ask for an appointment with doctors. The number soon soared to 2,000 scattered all over and along adjacent streets.
“How come 2,000 people are asked to report on the same day to ask for an appointment? This is a terrible mistake on the part of the hospital management and the people in charge of fixing appointments,” fumed an angry Saudi patient who said he came to the hospital at seven in the morning to spend the whole day without being able to get an appointment.
