I have extensively dealt with the King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center (KFSH&RC) in Jeddah and since I don't know anything about KFSH&RC in Riyadh, I will restrict what I am saying to the hospital's operations in Jeddah.
I will start by emphasizing that the hospital's director and staff are excused for they are shouldering unprecedented burdens and are facing circumstances for which they are not to blame for. They are helpless. If the situation in the hospital is dire, it is not the fault of staff as they are simply doing their jobs to the best of their abilities.
The people who should be blamed are certain influential individuals who force the hospital to treat patients who do not need to be treated there. This is the reason why the hospital is crowded with patients and the waiting list for check-ups and treatment is long. Often, patients have to wait so long that they give up hope and go to a private hospital.This is what happened to my wife. The doctor who was treating her at a private hospital told her that she needed catheterization to drain fluids in her liver. He also said that the only doctor who can do this in the city works at KFSH&RC but in order to be accepted for treatment at the hospital, we were told we had to use influence or "wasta" of a highly influential person.
Personally, I hate wasta and consider it a sort of corruption because when I resort to wasta, I deprive another person of a chance of receiving treatment. But a person in need of urgent medical care, is forced by circumstances to resort to wasta. An order was issued for her admission in the hospital by an influential and highly posted person. We submitted a report on her condition to the hospital. After one week, we were informed that the doctor concerned could not examine her for at least a month.
The next day her condition worsened, and she was admitted to the hospital's emergency room. She had to wait for six long hours without anyone checking up on her, so we returned home and I decided to admit her to a hospital in Paris. By the time we reached Paris, doctors told us we were too late as her condition had deteriorated and she would not survive the procedure. Her condition continued to worsen until she finally passed away.
Despite our belief that death is predestined, this does not absolve the hospital of responsibility. I said at the beginning of this article that the hospital is excused because it is under the pressure of people resorting to wasta. The hospital cannot reject influential persons even though patients who resort to wasta can often be treated at an ordinary government hospital. This situation will not improve until we put an end to wasta and I suspect this is impossible.
Abed Khazindar - Saudi Gazette
