Health care is an activity related to diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases and other physical and mental impairments in humans.

Health care is delivered by practitioners in hospitals, dental clinics, nursing houses, psychiatric clinics and other medical care facilities. It refers to the work engaged in providing primary, secondary or tertiary care in public health facilities.

But the problem arises when the place that is supposed to provide care also becomes a source of infection. Health care facilities sometimes become a fertile breeding ground for infections. Moreover, the practitioners and nurses who are supposed to treat patients are the very parties that might be carriers of infections.

Arab News visited some hospitals and medical centers in the capital Riyadh and discovered that several medical workers were wearing face masks but no gloves while others were not wearing any face masks or gloves. The workers were dealing with waste, thus exposing them and others to health risks.

Some hospitals were having construction and renovation works done in the same areas as patients who were waiting to be examined while nurses had their facial masks around their necks instead of on their faces.

About 80 percent of them don’t wear gloves while interacting with patients.

Additionally, the ICU areas, which are supposed to be strictly controlled and sealed off to visitors have easy accessibility and visitors could be seen walking freely inside while the nurses sat inattentively at the counters.

The waiting time for patients is unusually long with some female patients wereseen sleeping in a corner of the obstetrics and gynecology department.

Some diseases are airborne including coronavirus, tuberculosis (TB), measles, Varicella zoster and some similar viruses which can remain in the air for a long time and are easily transmitted inside a medical facility through a variety of means such as patients, health care workers, visitors, ventilation and air-conditioning systems.

It is important therefore, to ensure that health care facilities ensure strict measures and that quality control regulations are applied to avoid any potential risks to patients and visitors.