Saudi Gazette report MADINAH — Many citizens have been complaining about disorganization, total mismanagement and a severe shortage of staff at Uhud Hospital in Madinah. Citizen Matouq Al-Dhibyani said the waiting line of patients at the hospital lasts for hours and has become unbearable. “We are in Ramadan and the wait is very hard for the elderly and patients with diabetes. I came to the hospital at 1 a.m. and when I entered the waiting hall, it was crowded. Some patients were asleep on chairs.The waiting number I received to register was 239 and there were more than 100 patients waiting at the counter,” said Al-Dhibyani. He added a nurse came to him and told him to go eat and come back as he might be stuck here until dawn. Fahd Al-Mihmadi said the hospital does not have a sufficient supply of medicines and pharmaceuticals. “I cannot afford to go to a private hospital and pay for my medications. The hospital needs to organize and fix its shortcomings. It even has a severe shortage of staff. The number of nurses and doctors is not sufficient to handle the large volume of patients visiting the hospital,” said Al-Mihmadi. Saleh Al-Simairy said having to wait with other patients in the waiting hall or the lobby is extremely dangerous. “A healthy person could contract diseases from patients in the hall. The deputy minister of health said a few months ago that patients should not wait for too long at the emergency ward in order to avoid catching diseases. We shifted the crowds from the emergency ward to the reception desk, which makes no difference to the risks of getting infected,” said Al-Mihmadi. Nuaman Al-Luqmani said the emergency ward is also extremely crowded. “The hospital needs to organize this mess and employ more people. It needs to open a new emergency ward. The number of patients is constantly on the rise and something needs to be done,” said Al-Mihmadi. Mohammad Olayan said the emergency ward is the face of any hospital and it needs to be the most immaculate and organized of all departments. “The service in the hospital is way too slow and the people of Madinah are growing impatient about it. There needs to be more medical staff, more beds, a bigger patients capacity and efficient supply of medicines,” said Olayan. He added that the Ministry of Health needs to invest in developing the hospital it already has opened before building new hospitals, which is a longer and costlier process.
