Al Bilad newspaper Learn about the results of the “Medical Services Investigation Procurement Office” monitoring of health facilities
– 2024-03-01 19:31:22
The Parliamentary Investigation Committee on Medical Services, headed by Representative Mahdi Al-Shuwaikh, made a number of observations and points during its field visits to health care centers, the Salmaniya Medical Complex, and the Psychiatric Hospital, the most prominent of which are as follows:
Health care centers operate in two systems. There are centers that operate 24 hours a day, and other centers that operate 12 hours a day.
The waiting period for patients to obtain health services varies. Patients who book an appointment through the website, or through the national call, enter the doctor on time most of the time, and sometimes minutes before the appointment. As for patients who come to the center without Appointment They may receive an appointment two hours after requesting one.
All health centers provide a complaints box at the entrance. Patient complaints are also received through a communication program. There are patients who direct complaints directly to the center administrator or the center head.
There is a need to increase the medical staff, including doctors and nurses, in most of the health care centers visited by committee members.
There is a discrepancy between doctors regarding the review period for patients, some of whom praised increasing the examination time to (10) minutes instead of (8) minutes previously, and some of them requested increasing the review period for patients to (15) minutes, as (10) Minutes are not enough for the doctor to hear the patient and enter information, medications, and examination.
There is an observation that was repeated in health centers, which is the delay in incentives provided to the medical and administrative staff.
There is a large number of patients complaining about the lack of original medicines, especially medicines for chronic diseases, and alternative medicines are always provided.
During a visit to the radiology departments in primary health care centres, it became clear that there are some centers with new and advanced radiology equipment based on the digital system, and there are centers that still rely on the old method of radiology, and there are health centers whose radiology equipment does not work for several months, and patients are transferred to Other centers, including: Budaiya Health Center, Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Health Center, and Hamad Town Health Center.
There is no ambulance in primary health care centers, and reliance is placed on the first aid available in the National Ambulance, and when requesting an ambulance to the centers, the distance to reach the centers is estimated to be more than ten minutes.
The presence of doctors who hold a master’s degree, who work in the evening shift only, and are not rotated with other doctors in the morning shift.
There is a shortage in several places in Halat Bu Maher Health Center, including a shortage of dentists, as there is one consultant, and a number of (3) trainee doctors, but they do not have any assistants or technicians. For your information, there are (12) equipped dental clinics in the center, but the Transferring the equipment from the aforementioned clinics to other centers, leaving only (5) equipped clinics, but the center operates only (3) clinics, in addition to the lack of ear and throat examination devices, as doctors take turns using this device to examine patients, as doctors The center cleaned the room themselves due to the lack of workers in the center, and the committee noted that the bathrooms in the center were not clean.
There is a link between the pharmacies of the health care centers and the stores, as there is a system followed in each governorate by allocating a specific day of the month to order medicines, and receiving the medicines takes place a week after the order, and the pharmacies in the centers carry out an inventory every month before ordering the missing medicines.
Dispensing medications is done by first verifying the accuracy of the patient’s information by matching the identity with the personal number registered in the (I Saha) program, and then the medication is dispensed to the patient.
The unavailability of some medications in health care center pharmacies, which leads to requesting the medication from other center pharmacies in the region within 24 hours, or alternative medications are provided to the patient.
Most patients complained about the lack of diabetes treatment medication (Colocophage) in the pharmacies of health care centers. A large number of patients complain about the lack of original medications, especially medications for chronic diseases. Alternative medications are always provided, and many of these patients do not receive their medications according to the scheduled date. .
The Choose Your Doctor program is implemented in all primary health care centers visited, except for Al Hoora Health Center and Kuwait Health Center (due to maintenance work).
Most centers have spare, replacement devices for any device that might break down. In the event of a malfunctioning device, the maintenance department of the Salmaniya Medical Complex is contacted to repair it, or bring another replacement device for it.
Most health care centers need to increase the number of dental clinics, and increase the number of assistants and technicians in the clinics, but there is a shortage of physical therapists and there is a need to employ a larger number in this field.
There is a delay by the maintenance department in repairing the equipment related to the dental clinic affiliated with the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait Health Center, and because of this delay, the clinic is down and out of service.
The limited number of cleaning workers in health care centers, and some primary health care centers do not have hygiene supplies (soap and paper towels).
Some primary health care centers need to increase the number of medical beds in the nursing clinic.
There is a demand to accelerate the Galali Health Center and East Hidd Health Center projects, to relieve pressure on the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait Health Center (Hidd).
The lack of wheelchairs for the elderly and people of determination and the cases that require their use, and the long waiting period, as the period reaches two hours before entering the doctor, the lack of waiting seats, and the small space of some departments and corridors, which forces patients to stand in the corridors.
The small number of staff in the Salmaniya Medical Complex in general, and the emergency department in particular, and the small number of medical beds in the complex in general, and in the emergency department in particular, and the small number of regular radiology machines (x-ray) and in the emergency department, as the emergency department contains only two machines in addition to The small number of devices in the radiology department, as there are two CT rooms, three MRI machines, and one computed tomography machine, in addition to the need to increase the staff and equipment of the radiology department, as there is a severe shortage of them, which causes a delay in performing x-rays and submitting their reports.
Delay in giving appointments for ultra sound imaging, as the patient’s waiting period for the appointment ranges from one to two months.
There is a need to increase staff in the laboratory in general, and the Histology Department in particular, as there is pressure on staff.
The need to increase the staff of the maternity, dental, ear, nose and throat departments and women’s clinics, while increasing the number of visitors and patients.
Inadequacy of sickle cell anemia nurses and doctors, as several complaints were received from patients regarding the limited number of doctors.
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