Zuhair A Tawafiqi in his column “Searching for a cure” (GDN, July 31), writes that personally he has never heard anyone praising services provided by Salmaniya Medical Complex.
This old man from deep inside his heart is always appreciative for this welfare state which keeps increasing its health budget, and for the kind-hearted Prime Minister, who in almost every Cabinet meeting re-stresses a more comfortable life for citizens, particularly the elderly. Yes, this old man today joins the learned columnist to the extent that SMC provided very good services until early 1990s, but today it is plagued with ever increasing maladministration.
Last Thursday I reported at 9pm to SMC Emergency. At 10pm the nurse at Triage allotted me consultant room No 2. From 10.10 to 11.30pm there was no doctor in rooms 1 and 2. At 11.15 a doctor came in room No 1. When I enquired from the counter, I was told that it was “duty shift time”. Duty shift time is 1.30am in the emergency ward! In such places the sitting duty person never leaves until his replacement arrives. If this is the time for a duty shift, I wondered why then in room 3 two very young Bahraini lady doctors continuously kept attending patients, leaving the room around 10.45 when it was again occupied at 11.15pm by a Filipino lady doctor.
It was not a duty shift but pure administrative indiscipline as there appeared to be no senior inspecting different sections.
Complaining to the health ministry is of no use. Expecting that our honourable legislators will give any serious attention to the words of Zuhair Tawafiqi is like expecting the sun to rise in the west as they are too preoccupied with their one-point agenda, viz expatriates. By the way I may help these legislators with their expatriates-oriented agenda that they can consider all expatriates getting treatment only and only at Razi Health Centre. The legislators can find a convincing argument that when expats arrive in Bahrain for the first time, for their mandatory medical they visited this centre, and as such should remain so. Can I propose to our legislators that they may enact a law that all embassies in the kingdom contain a 24-hour dispensary for providing treatment to their own nationals.
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