There is an Arab proverb that says, “Never trust a carpenter whose house’s door is cracking.” This proverb applies to the Ministry of Health, which reportedly refuses to offer treatment to its staff.
Here, I will talk about this ministry in general because its structure needs complete overhauling. As its name implies, the ministry is supposed to look after our health, but when it refuses to help one of its senior employees, no one can be convinced that it deserves this name, because how could a Health Ministry employee properly look after others, when he is himself deprived of that facility.
To elaborate my point, I will give an example of a senior employee who had served the ministry for over 25 years. He fell sick and was diagnosed with cancer. He needed treatment in a specialist hospital functioning under the ministry. The person approached the ministry for treatment, but his request was turned down because the ministry’s rules did not allow treatment to its own staff. This man, whom I know personally, was in desperate need for treatment.
However, his family managed to seek help from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, who ordered that this patient be sent abroad for treatment on the king’s own expense. You can imagine how easily his family could meet the king and get his help, but couldn’t convince the ministry to give medical care to this citizen.
Every attempt was made to convince the ministry to respond to this humanitarian case, but to no avail. Since this is not an isolated case because it is likely to happen to other citizens, this makes us wonder as to what the solution is? To me, the solution is very simple: To end the red tape within the ministry’s system that is so dominant. This ministry is not a charity organization, but a public body that should provide services to all the citizens without exception and without any need for ‘wasta.’ We are not asking for any favor but for our rights as citizens.
The government under King Salman has been very strict in dealing with negligent entities or individuals and there have been a number of measures taken to deal with them. The swift action after the Makkah crane crash against the contracting company that had failed to abide by the safety rules speaks volumes of the king’s concern about the welfare of residents and citizens. The huge compensation given to the kin of the dead and the injured is also something that points to the Kingdom’s generous attitude toward those visiting the holy land.
Action against the former chief of royal protocol by the king when he was seen in a video slapping a photographer; action against several others, including ministers, when they failed to respond to citizens’ requests or treated them badly; amply show how much the king and Saudi leaders under him care about the citizens and all those living in the Kingdom.
However, there are areas where action needs to be taken and where flaws need to be brought to the notice of the Saudi leadership. We are sure our leadership will leave no stone unturned to respond to the rightful demands of the citizens.
