Hospitals in Sana’a overcrowded with patients [Archives:2008/1190/Health]

Mahmoud Assamiee
Public and private hospitals in Sana'a are overcrowded with patients and the situation is spiraling out on control as the hospitals have limited capacity to accommodate patients who often come from other governorates.

At every public hospital there are around 20 to 30 clinics, with up to 30 patients in the waiting rooms all waiting for the same doctor.

This affects the quality of healthcare, as the doctor has to deal with all these patients quickly yet efficiently, often working long hours with little pay. Often when the door of the doctor's room is opened, four of five patients try to enter at once. This puts pressure on the doctor to hurriedly perform the medical check-up and diagnose the patient before moving on to the next one. Often one doctor has to see up to 40 patients in a matter of four hours.

Patients, many of them children, have to wait two to six hours to see the doctor and complain that the doctors and hospital management do not perform their duties well. “I have been waiting since early morning to see the doctor