“Such patients need health care more than medication. There is a great shortage in organizations that provide health care services to people who are long-term ill,” said Dr. Nawwaf Al-Harithy, director of the Health Affairs Department in Hail.

He added that in spite of a number of organizations helping in this field, such as the National Guard and the House-Care Program of Princess Adilah bint Abdullah, there is still a dire need for more organizations. The two-day conference, which discussed the role of the social services with regard to long-term patients and those who refuse to leave hospitals, was held at King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Jeddah.

The event was also attended by a number of specialists who presented possible solutions to the problem. Director of the Health Affairs Department in Jeddah Dr. Sami bin Muhammad Badawood said there is a need to support social service departments to allow them to help such people. He also added that efforts need to be made to curb the negative practices that prevent hospitals from taking effective measures to deal with the issue.

He asked the relatives of people who are in hospital on a long-term basis to take them out of hospitals to give other sick people an opportunity to get medical help.

Abdul Rahman bin Saad, director of information and health awareness at the Department of Health Affairs, said the conference will also discuss methods of teaching the families of these patients the required skills to deal with their illness.