A Scream against University Hospitals

By Dr. Ali AlKarni

Editor-in-chief

Faculty members and staff of King Saud University (KSU) feel that they have got nothing to do with King Khalid Hospital and King Abdul-Aziz Hospital. They consider them as any other citizen or an expatriate who administratively belong to other private hospitals. But why?!

Neither faculty members nor staff feel that they have privileges except for an exclusive faculty member clinic that is of no real value other than transferring a patient to a specialized clinic  in one of the two hospitals.

At the specialized clinic, the patient  waits for weeks or months till he or she gets an appointment in a long-listed patients. While there, he has to wait amongst a large number of patients till gets an appointment.

One of the faculty members I know complained against having no single room after undergoing a surgery nor during admission at the hospital. Another colleague complained that he was admitted in a room with other nationalities. Psychologically, he was not that OK because of the uncomfortable room. He passed away at the same room while feeling sorry that the KSU has provided him low-standard medical services in return for more than 20 years of sincere service.

The solution is that a medical insurance should be provided to the faculty members since the university hospitals do not offer face-saving services. They enlarge services for off-campus people, turning deaf ear to status of faculty members and members of staff.