Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Patients who suffer from kidney disease face a host of difficulties when applying for jobs. Private firms are usually unwilling to employ them on the pretext that they are unable to carry out the duties of their jobs properly. Patients says most companies will not even bother to look at their medical reports to have a better understanding of the type of ailment they have and instead reject their applications. A number of patients who suffer from different types of kidney disease and receive regular dialysis treatment at the Jeddah Kidney Center at King Fahd hospital talked to Al-Madinah local daily on Monday about their predicament. Their complaints varied from the difficulties they face with their respective diseases and treatment, to the use of public transport and high cost of living. Karam Khaled Masawi undergoes dialysis three times a week from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. Masawi was offered a government scholarship to study abroad but due to the high costs of dialysis there, he was forced to cut short his studies and return to the Kingdom. “I started looking for a job but wherever I went, I was met with rejection for no obvious reason other than that I was a kidney patient. I'm well qualified, speak fluent English and made a good candidate for any job but as soon my interviewers came to know about my sickness, they would immediately apologize and tell me they were unable to hire me,” he said. “I only get SR800 a month in social security. This is nowhere near enough to meet day to day expenses. For three years now I am on the list of unemployed citizens. All doors have been closed in my face,” he added. Echoing Masawi's frustration, Abdullah Abdul Rahman Al-Qahtani, who also undergoes regular dialysis treatment, said the job market is not sympathetic to people with medical problems. “I never asked to be paid a lot. All I want is a job in any sector that pays a decent wage so I can live a dignified life but companies view people like us as a liability. I get SR800 in social security and my mother gets SR500 – what can SR1300 do these days? I can't even cover my basic needs,” said Al-Qahtani. “I live in south Jeddah and have to spend SR25 or SR30 on taxis every time I have to get from my home to the dialysis center. Though the center provides us with transport back to our homes the money I pay to get here is still a lot,” he added. Beyond greater financial support, patients say the Ministry of Social Affairs needs to do more to help them get jobs and adjust to life outside of the hospital. “I sent a request to the ministry for a wheelchair but I haven't heard back from them despite the fact that I went back twice to follow up on my request,” said Huraib Mubarak Al-Ammari, a patient who is forced to use crutches as he is unable to afford a wheelchair. Director of the Jeddah Kidney Center Dr. Fouad Shiairiyah said about 80 percent of patients who come to the center for dialysis treatment are qualified and capable of working in any sector. “They are physically and mentally fit. There is no reason for private companies not to employ them. The center is ready to supply any company with comprehensive medical reports on the health of every patient,” he said adding that the few kidney patients who doctors feel are unable to work are helped by philanthropists. The supervisor-general of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Makkah, Hussain Al-Sharif, said the NSHR had not received any complaints from patients so far but he promised to assist anyone who came to the society. “If the kidney patients are unable to work, they should be financially assisted by the Ministry of Social Affairs. They should not be ignored or treated as disabled people,” he said.
