Saudi Gazette report

YANBU — Patients seeking treatment from outpatient clinics at Yanbu General Hospital are complaining about the long wait for appointments, which they say could exceed more than two months.

They said some of the patients were referred to the hospital from primary health centers because of the serious nature of their illnesses.

Speaking to Al-Madina newspaper, they said the hospital in the Royal Commission refuses to receive local patients and it has closed all patient files more than eight years ago. They called on the authorities to start a night shift at the general hospital to meet the increasing demand for healthcare and to avoid overcrowding and the long waiting time during the day shift.

Ali Al-Johani, a Yanbu resident, said he started having the symptoms of diabetes. He visited the health center in his neighborhood where he was examined by a general practitioner. The doctor carried out the needed tests and discovered from the results that Al-Johani was suffering from pre-diabetes. He was referred to Yanbu General Hospital where he was shocked to discover that the nearest appointment available was two months away because of overcrowding. The hospital staff told him to come back after a month to make an appointment.

He said, "I do not know what to do? We only have the Yanbu General Hospital in the city. The hospital at the Royal Commission does not receive us any more. It is the responsibility of the Health Affairs to appoint sufficient number of doctors so all citizens can receive treatment when required.”

Ahmad Al-Sinani, another resident, said Yanbu is a big governorate and there are many villages surrounding the city. It is not logical, according to him, that this large population has only one general hospital to serve them.

Residents of Al-Ais, Badr and Umluj also come to the hospital for treatment, contributing to the overcrowding.

"My mother is sick and she is a regular visitor to the internal medicine clinic at Yanbu General Hospital. The biggest problem is the long wait for appointments that could be two to three months away. Why can't the Health Affairs appoint enough number of doctors to reduce the long waiting period. And why we have only one hospital in Yanbu?" said Sinani.

Saleh Al-Refaie said, "People are forced to put up with their illnesses until the time of their appointment. Can a patient wait for two or three months for the badly needed treatment? Everything else can wait except health. The Health Affairs need to find a solution to this problem," he said.

The Health Affairs in Madinah refused to respond to requests from Al-Madina for a comment on the complaints of patients.