The uncertainty of appointments in public hospitals is an issue patients constantly complain about. They are sick and tired of the seeming impossibility of having a specific appointment and of always being forced to wait a long time to see the doctor. Patients complain that they are given appointments three months to a year from the present, especially for dentists, dermatologists and ophthalmologists — and often the actual consultation lasts only a few minutes. In some cases, the patient has no choice but to wait because there are no alternative solutions. Sometimes patients might have serious conditions and waiting may seriously worsen it.
One such case is of a 27-year-old Saudi woman who graduated with a specialization in computers. She had a problem with her eyes and she mentioned in her complaint that she suffered a great deal because of it. First she went to a private hospital and the doctor prescribed her glasses, but her condition didn’t improve. She then went to the Riyadh Medical Center where she was told to wait a few months and then was given an appointment. Because she was suffering acute pain, she could not wait. Her vision worsened and she went to a private optical center where contact lenses were substituted for the glasses. Her condition continued to worsen and the doctors told her that she needed a corneal transplant. She then went to the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital and after her first appointment, the doctor prescribed eye drops and gave her an appointment four months later. Two days prior to the appointment, the hospital phoned her to tell her that 60 patients’ appointments — which included hers — had been canceled because the ophthalmologist was on a three-month vacation.
Incredulous, I called the hospital to make sure that the woman’s complaint was true. And the hospital confirmed that the appointments had indeed been canceled because of the specialist’s three-month vacation. They made matters worse by saying there was no risk in canceling the appointments because the patients’ conditions were not critical and they could easily wait.
I was shocked and I expressed my concern regarding this, pointing out that public hospitals, or any hospital for that matter, should make their patients a priority. I got no response from the hospital. I wonder if it is right, fair and logical simply to ignore 60 patients because of a doctor’s vacation? Why doesn’t the hospital provide a solution, such as bringing another specialist to do the vacationing doctor’s job? Surely patients have to be taken care of in order to get better and recover. Does anyone have any solutions?
