JEDDAH: Non-emergency cases, or what hospitals call P3 (Priority 3) cases, cause heavy burden on Jeddah’s public hospitals.

According to the Jeddah Health Department, these non-emergency cases amounted to 80 percent of the total cases last year, a local newspaper reported.

Dr. Muhammad Bajubair, director of the private health department in Jeddah, said patients whose health conditions required emergency medical care account for between 15 and 20 percent of the total number of patients seen in emergency rooms at hospitals.

“Most of the cases could wait another day to get treatment; other cases who could be dealt with in neighborhood health centers come to emergency rooms and create extra burden on medical staff. This rush also adds to patients waiting a long time to get treatment and their negative effects on doctors and on other patients whose health conditions are critical,” he explained.

Dr. Tariq Alazraki, an internal medicine consultant at Asir Central Hospital, said emergency rooms in all public hospitals in the Kingdom are used for cases that do not require its attention and care. “Neighborhood health centers are not utilized by citizens although they are in all neighborhoods and include on their staff doctors and consultants in all specialties in addition to all medicines and medical services,” he said.

“We see that emergency rooms are crowded with nonemergency cases. This takes the doctors’ time and effort and negatively affects patients who are suffering from serious health problems,” he said.

Dr. Tariq Alajami, an orthopedic consultant, said critical cases that require the attention of emergency room staff include heart disease, chest pains, blockage of the respiratory tract, severe bleeding, poor circulation and high blood pressure. “Also surgical cases that need rapid and direct intervention such as spinal cord injuries resulting from traffic accidents,” he said.

He noted that many patients lack awareness about the correct place where they should seek treatment.

A source at King Fahd Hospital said emergency rooms accept every patient who comes to the department, whether the case is classified as emergency or not. "They know it is their duty to provide health services and treatment to all who seek them," the source said.