A rude awakening for hospitals

Insulting doctors and other employees in the health sector has become a trend in Saudi Arabia. Many insults and violent incidents have recently been reported in the media. Although Saudi police have investigated these incidents, many health workers still suffer from the social savageness. Patients, who are annoyed with the unavailability of services in hospitals, tend to insult the doctors. The phenomenon is believed to be widespread. However, there are no statistics showing the number of reported cases in Saudi Arabia. A Saudi male patient insulted Halah A., an Egyptian doctor working in a private hospital, after she asked him to wait for his turn in the waiting room. “Such incidents occur regularly. Being an expatriate and a woman apparently encourages some patients to insult me,” she said. “Another time I had a patient who wanted to enter the clinic before other patients, even though he was late. He fought with other patients, and then with the nurse. When I spoke to him, he insulted me, using very impolite words. I didn’t file a complaint against him, but I expelled him from my clinic. I now refuse to treat him.” According to Halah, such patients usually don’t believe in the importance of women's participation in the work force. “He was shouting loudly and asked for a male doctor,” she said of the queue jumper. A Saudi female patient insulted Rawda Yassin, a Syrian pharmacist, working in a government hospital in Jeddah. “In the pharmacy we give each patient a number to make sure everyone is served in time. I am in charge of calling on the numbers and dispense the drugs. One of the patients was very angry because she had to wait for 45 minutes. She shouted loudly and then pushed me to see my name. She used bad words and blamed me for delaying her prescription. I felt helpless. The doctors and patients shuddered hearing her dirty language,” she said. She added, “The head of the pharmacy came to me and asked what had happened. When I explained the situation, the patient insulted me again. Then she threatened me, saying ‘You don’t know who I am. I will deport you’.” A Saudi patient insulted Kamil Swalmeh, a Jordanian dentist working in a private hospital, because the patient’s health insurance card did not cover the dental care. “The man came to my clinic to have his decayed teeth removed. I put in a newly manufactured tooth, and cleaned his teeth. All these services would cost him SR1,200. When he made the reservation the receptionist told him that his health insurance would not cover the service and he would have to pay the money directly to the doctor. He didn’t understand her and started shouting.” Swalmeh added, “The nurse advised him to come to my clinic and I would explain it to him. When I did, he got angry, insulted me and hit in my face. The clash ended when security guards entered the clinic. The hospital manager asked me to keep quiet about the issue and not file a complaint with the police. In most cases, doctors are advised against complaining to the authorities by the hospital management for obvious reasons.” Mesfer Al-Juaid, spokesman for Jeddah police, said such incidents happen from time to time and both Saudi and expatriate doctors and workers in the health sector are involved. “When the police receive a complaint, we immediately respond and start investigations. When we find the culprit, they would immediately be transferred to the investigation unit,” said Al-Juaid. Ahmad Mustafa Basha, a health consultant and member of the Health Committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, confirmed that many doctors, nurses, and pharmacists are facing challenges in terms of patients’ behavior. “In the case of a physical attack, the doctor has the right to defend himself, but if he was verbally insulted he should not rebut. When that happens, he can complain to the hospital management and police to settle the issue,” he said. “Health sector employees are already required not to rebut when a patient insults them. It’s part of the standard set by the World Health Organization.”