JEDDAH, 27 March 2007 — Patients’ numerous and continued complaints to the Ministry of Health about the burn department of King Fahd Hospital has led to the department’s closure, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday.
The department failed to treat a number of cases because of the lack of equipment and poor staff performance. Though SR10 million had been spent on internal renovations, the service given to patients was far below standard and resulted in the deaths of some patients and others’ condition deteriorating.
“My daughter was put in the hospital because of a burn on her leg. The diagnosis was that it was a second-degree burn. She was in the hospital for 23 days and there was no improvement,” said the mother of one patient. “I succeeded in getting her transferred to the National Guard Hospital where doctors said that because of negligence and improper treatment, the second-degree burn had become a third-degree one. She was given incorrect medication and the doctors said it could have caused death.”
The mother said she had asked authorities to send her daughter outside the country for cosmetic surgery.
She said her daughter had received little treatment at King Fahd Hospital except a prescription for some cream. “The cream cost SR95 per packet and she used eight to 10 packets. It did not heal the burn but made it worse,” said the mother.
One woman mentioned the horrible condition of hospital furniture. She said there was only one chair in the entire ward for the use of patients. When she asked about new ones, she was told that they were only for VIPs.
She said this is only one problem. “There is the more serious problem of poor performance. The nurses are not trained or professional,” said the woman.
