52,000 patients kept on waiting listRIYADH – A General Auditing Bureau (GAB) report – which found several serious problems at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital – showed 52,000 patients were on the waiting list for treatment in November and December 2010; a doctor there saw only seven patients in a month; Saudi doctors are not hired despite vacancies; and the medical facility was giving courses on Western dances, Al-Watan Arabic newspaper said. The doctor who saw less than two patients per week would be held accountable, the report added, but the number of patients on the waiting list was increasing, from 44,000 to 52,000 between Nov. 1 and Dec. 30, 2010. If the number continued to rise, some patients faced waiting for two years to see a doctor, but there was no planning to regularly review the waiting list and ensure it did not become excessive, according to the report. Johns Hopkins University, an American school, failed to honor an agreement to send doctors to King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital; the report said. Only two doctors had been provided by the university since a contract was signed, the report added. Treatment was further hindered because laser equipment has broken down and caused delays performing operations, the GAB report said. The report also found that problems extended beyond treatment-related matters; the director of the Entertainment Center and his deputy offered dance courses, which violated labor laws and social traditions. The director and his deputy, a British national, also provided minimal services to patients and always did not show up to work, according to the report, which attributed these shortcomings to not hiring Saudis to work in those positions which could be filled by qualified Saudi staff. The director of human resources has not taken any legal measures against the two, despite knowing of their behavior for three months, the report said. The report demanded that violators be held accountable and replaced by Saudi staff.
