Jeddah needs 30 more health facilities

(MENAFN- Arab News) Jeddah needs an additional 30 health centers to accommodate the growing number of people seeking treatment in the city an official from the health department said on tuesday.

abdul rahman al-sahafi spokesperson of the department said the areas without facilities include the neighborhoods of al-naeem al-baghdadiya al-marwa al-haramain al-rusais and al-khalidiya.

he said the city has submitted a proposal to the ministry of health and expects construction to start at the beginning of next year. the projects would cost more than sr30 million he said.

the city currently has more than 40 health centers. there are plans to start family health programs at these facilities to take advantage of available doctors consultants and specialists.

'non-critical cases will be transferred to these follow-up centers where patients will be attended to by specialists or consultant physicians. those patients who require immediate attention and more advanced equipment will be attended to at hospitals and once stabilized will be transferred to these health centers for follow up and care."

the goal of these projects said al-sahafi is to provide medical services to all patients and alleviate the pressure on hospitals from having to deal with non-emergency cases. this way hospitals would be able to focus on surgeries and other treatment.

meanwhile several citizens in jeddah have complained about the poor medical services at some of the city's health centers. they said that patients do not receive full medical care. these centers are often unable to accommodate patients referred from hospitals or address more critical cases.

those suffering from critical problems and need periodic follow-up are referred to large hospitals which creates a burden on patients. residents also complained that there are too few medical staff at the centers.

rashidi mohammed and abdul rahman al-faqih said that patient care was poor and that services cannot be provided in such a random and disorganized manner.

they said these facilities do not have the capacity to accommodate patients referred from hospitals. this causes long treatment delays they said.