Expansion projects are underway to deal with the serious challenges King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital (KKESH) is facing in terms of providing efficient and timely medical services to patients. The hospital was responding to the recent critical report from General Auditing Bureau (GAB). The report, published in the Saudi Gazette earlier this week, analyzed the overall performance of the hospital between 11/12/2010 and 14/12/2010. According to the report, the number of patients on the waiting list rose from 44,000 to 52,000 in two months, which meant that some patients would only get to see a doctor in two years' time. The report also found several financial violations including delay in appointing medical staff, broken equipment, payment of salaries to people not on the payroll, and appointment of consultant doctors without following proper procedures. Despite vacancies at the hospital, no Saudi doctor had been employed for two years. There were also instances of theft by former staff members, lack of administrative decision-making by the executive director, and the failure of the SR34-million computer system. The report also noted there was a SR500,000 discrepancy between the accounts of the laboratory and the purchases department. A total of 201 items were lost in the warehouse and frequent purchase orders were issued for existing items and equipment not available in the laboratory. The report also found that a local agency was contracted to provide printing services without proper approval. It was also found that the entertainment center gave courses on Western dances against labor laws and social traditions and norms. No regulations to organize departmental work were available. In response, the KKESH said in a statement Sunday, “This is the only specialist eye hospital in the Kingdom and it receives cases from hospitals all over the Kingdom. The hospital classifies cases based on severity and allocates appointments accordingly. “The majority of appointments mentioned in the GAB report are for patients who have been seen by doctors and are on the list to see doctors again. To reduce the waiting list, evening clinics from 5.30 P.M. to 8.30 P.M. have started operating since last Sha'aban. The outpatient department is being expanded to increase the number of patients treated by 45 percent. The number of operating rooms has been increased to 15. New eye specialist hospitals will be constructed in medical cities as per King Abdullah's orders.” A source at KKESH added that the hospital will ensure “complete transparency as per the Ministry of Health's regulations” which stipulate full cooperation with the GAB. “We will investigate those involved and send the results of the investigation to the GAB. Regarding the embezzlement case which was discovered by us a few months ago, the hospital found out about the employee, dismissed him on the spot and handed him over to the concerned security authorities,” the source said. “We told the GAB team about this case when it visited us,” he added. “With regard to the dance classes, the staff member, an expatriate worker, who gave these classes, was dismissed a year ago.He gave the classes inside the entertainment center of the hospital's housing complex. The action did not affect patients nor did it disrupt the hospital's work or the services provided to patients,” the source said.
