Senior officials at Qunfudah General Hospital resign

QUNFUDAH — Following the resignation of senior health officials in Hail, six officials at Qunfudah General Hospital have submitted their resignations claiming that they could not tolerate the administrative pressure exercised on them.

Their move came as Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah was scheduled to appear before the Shoura Council next week to answer questions and complaints raised by citizens, Al-Watan newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Abdurahman Al-Saif, spokesman of Snaf Subcontractor Company which is responsible for the hospital’s maintenance and operation, said the ministry was in the process of reconsidering its findings in which it blamed the company for the failure of oxygen supply that led to the death of a woman patient in the hospital.

He said the ministry is likely to withdraw its decision against the company because the latter presented evidence proving that the company had cautioned the hospital about the danger of using cleaning workers in administering medical gases to patients in the hospital.

The concerned officials are also looking into financial irregularities at the cardiac section of the hospital.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Sheikhi, Medical Director of Al-Qunfudah Hospital, said he presented his resignation for external reasons. “How are we supposed to serve the patients when no medical supplies reach our pharmacy for months? And when the hospital asks the Directorate of Health Affairs to supply medicines the order remains unfulfilled for months on end. At the best they supply a small portion of the order, which lasts only for a few days.”

Muntasr Bakhsh, spokesman of Al-Qunfudah Health Affairs, said there were no collective resignations and the reality was that the medical director of the hospital asked to be relieved of his post.

He said the Central Committee for Accreditation of Health Facilities was scheduled to visit the governorate in the few next days to review facilities at the hospital and this prompted the medical director to present his resignation.

“He has limited experience in hospital administration and could not cope with the demands of the job. The hospital’s director has discussed with the heads of department about their resignations. They have changed their mind and remain in their posts,” said Bakhsh. — SG