MAKKAH — Patients visiting Makkah hospitals are demanding more doctors and a better system that will ensure they receive treatment quicker. Patient Nawaf Saleh said Al-Nour Hospital is always crowded and the Ministry of Health has not found a solution to this problem yet. He said: “The worst is the emergency ward in the pediatrics department. Diseases will not wait for anyone. Children's condition grows worse in the hospital. “The only solution is to have more doctors, especially in this hospital as it is the main hospital in the city.” Mohammad Al-Khuzaie said he brought his very ill mother to the emergency ward of a public hospital around 6 p.m. He said: “The staff was just running standard checkups on my mother and I had to wait for her until 8:30 p.m. “My mother was so exhausted she fainted and suffered from low blood pressure as she was also diabetic. “The nurses were trying to resuscitate her on the spot without even moving her to a room.” He added his mother was neglected until 11 p.m. that day when he began yelling at hospital staff to take her to a room. They finally did after he got into a fight with them. Faizah had to bribe a cleaning woman to take extra care of her mother, who was in one of Makkah's main hospitals. She said: “My mother cannot feed herself and the nurse would just bring the food and leave. “She needs someone to peel for her and cut the food into morsels so she can swallow them.” Saud Zaqzouq said his father was released from the hospital he had been admitted to far too early. He said: “The doctor issued my father's release from the hospital when it was evident that my father needed more treatment. “On what basis are they deciding when a patient needs to be admitted or needs to be released? “Because patients are being released too early and admitted too late. Some have to wait up to six hours to get a room.”
