BISHA — The people of Samakh, a township 80 km south of Bisha, have been dreaming about a government general hospital for the past 30 years since the Ministry of Health installed a board in 1409H indicating the required land for the project has been allocated. "But the hospital still remains a dream as no action has been taken by the ministry to implement the project," Nasser Hamad Al-Daraani told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. "We had big hope when the ministry installed the board highlighting the land allocation for the hospital project has been completed," he added. Samakh residents believed that the project would put an end to their woes to receive public medical services. "The long delay in establishing a public hospital in Samakh has denied its people's right to have good health services nearby their homes," Al-Daraani said. "Now people have to travel long distance to reach hospitals in other cities. This has increased the suffering of patients," he explained. "The people of Samakh have been waiting for the establishment of a public hospital for the last 30 years," Al-Daraani said. "We hope that the ministry would speed up implementation of the project to put an end to the suffering of Samakh residents," he added. He said many residents are planning to leave the township in search for better services. Abdullah Al-Waahabi said the happiness they had when the ministry announced the allocation of land for the hospital did not last long as the project remained as ink on the paper. It looks strange that the government did not approve the hospital even after the Shariah court issued a deed for the project site. "Thirty years have passed after the declaration of the project but still the ministry has not taken any action to implement it," he added. "We hope the ministry would realize the complexity of the issue and take quick steps to implement the hospital project," Al-Waahabi said. Saif Abdullah said the delay in establishing a public hospital in Samakh has increased the number of patients visiting King Abdullah Hospital in Bisha. "The new Samakh hospital will reduce the pressure on King Abdullah Hospital," he said. Mohammed Al-Howail spoke about the growing number of traffic accidents on Bisha-Khamis Mushait Road and most accident victims die before reaching hospitals in Bisha or Khamees. "The establishment of a fully fledged hospital in Samakh would help save a large number of accident victims every year," he said. Mohammed Bin Naesa, chairman of the Municipal Council in Samakh, blamed the long delay in implementing the hospital project on the negligence of Health Affairs Department in Asir region. "The Asir emir has instructed the Health Ministry to include Samakh hospital project in the Eighth Five-Year Development Plan considering the increase in its population and its remote location away from Bisha and Khamis. Moreover, a large number of accidents occur on the main road linking the two cities," Naesa said. He stressed the need to upgrade the status of primary health care center into a referral center. "The health affairs department has failed to implement the recommendations of the Asir Provincial Council," he added. People believed that the establishment of a public hospital in Samakh would put an end to their health woes and reduce death toll of traffic accidents.
