Op-ed: We need a health care system that is a credit to the nation

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Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140427203181


OPINION
We need a health care system that is a credit to the nation
Last updated: Sunday, April 27, 2014 12:04 AM
KHALED ALMAEENA

The coronavirus (MERS) crisis and the scare it is giving to society should be viewed as a test case.

We have been hearing about this virus for almost two years and every report on MERS has been followed by reports from the Ministry of Health's Public Relations Department that all is well and that everything is under control.

However, the outbreak of this virus, the rising number of infected people, the increasing death toll and above all the mishandling in communicating what has been happening have caused a panic. We read from foreign sources about passengers from the Kingdom who arrive in other countries infected with the disease and a couple of these people have died.

The lack of transparency and information and the general mishandling of the medical crisis have contributed to further mental aggravation.

The appointment of the Minister of Labor Adel Fakeih as the Acting Minster of Health and his immediate setting up of a task force of local and foreign experts has provided some relief...

 

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Re: Op-ed: We need a health care system that is a credit to the nation

Comments to the op-ed:
Source: http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20140503203839

...More needs to be done to control this virus and the following steps must be taken at the Kingdom?s hospitals:

1. There should be a ban on visitors, especially with children, to any hospital.

2. Hospitals need to stop operating non-emergency routine cases.

3. Every hospital should have isolation wards.

4. All patients who need routine, elective surgery should be discharged.

5. Patients who cannot be discharged should be isolated from new acute admissions to prevent any cross infection.

6. The number of unnecessary staff should be minimized and they should be used on a rotation basis to reduce the chances of a unit/ward being shut down.

7. Special masks must be given to doctors and nurses, such as the ones given to medical staff in the UK during the outbreak of bird flu. The recent deaths of nurses and doctors have spread fear among hospital staff.

8. People should be stopped from coming for Umrah until everything is under control especially in Makkah, Madinah and Jeddah.

These are a few suggestions of steps to be taken to fight the coronavirus outbreak. However, it should also be noted that expatriate doctors and nurses are leaving the Kingdom due to the bad working atmosphere in hospitals and the behavior of their Saudi bosses....