The Director of the Tuberculosis and Chest Disease Center, Dr. Adel Al-Ghamdi, in Jeddah said the center's laboratory does not have modern medical equipment despite the equipment having been requested from the Ministry of Health. He also called for a new building as the current one is old and cannot accommodate all patients. Dr. Al-Ghamdi told Al-Watan newspaper that the center receives around 80 cases daily, and that it is small and cannot cope with the number of patients. “We need medical equipment to provide medical services and tests to tuberculosis patients. Unfortunately, so far our requests have not been answered.” He also revealed that patients suffer from low-quality services and long-waiting lists because of the lack of medical equipment. Because of this, the center must send test samples and x-rays to other hospitals. The reporter who took a tour inside the building likened it to a deserted building and said that the medical equipment was old. Adel Fadil, who has been visiting the center for 10 years, said: “The service quality is getting worse day by day because of the condition of the medical equipment. Patients have to wait for three hours before a doctor sees them and prescribes the necessary medication. The center also suffers from a shortage of staff.” However, the Director of Health Affairs, Dr. Sami Badawood, said the Ministry of Health has allocated SR18 million for a new center with full medical equipment which will provide high-quality services to patients. “The land on which the project will be built is located in east Jeddah and the project will be completed in two years,” he said. Dr. Badawood insisted that the laboratory has modern medical equipment and devices. However, he agreed that the condition of the building is bad as it is old, which is why a new center will be built.
