Private hospitalsMisused lucrative business [Archives:2004/745/Health]

By Abdu karim Al-Hubaishi
For the Yemen Times
In the past two decades we have witnessed a dramatic growth in demand for more medical facilities, such as hospitals, clinics and health centers, to accommodate the population growth rate of our country, estimated to be the world's highest.
The few old government health facilities have long since become unable to cope with the rising demand for public health services. The financial difficulties of the government have resulted the need for increased reliance on local private businessmen to invest in the health sector, which is legitimate and vital step for the development of our national health facilities.
In the past six years, there has been a substantial growth in the establishment of private hospitals, which have flourished throughout the country.
The question here is – Are they really contributing to the national health service? The answer is unfortunately 'No' – there are a growing number of complaints coming from patients who have been treated in these private hospitals. From the way they are functioning, one can easily notice that the noble humanitarian mission of treating the sick is a secondary factor for the management of those hospitals, whose primary aim is a double profit, from what they see as a lucrative business with a guarantee of easy profitability.
Most of these hospitals are established on any ordinary roadside building of three or four stories, which lack the basic standards required to function as a hospital. This fact makes one ask how they got the permission to practice. What are the criteria they have to meet in order to practice?
Most of the doctors who practice in these hospitals are foreign, expatriates – but, is there any authority that verifies their qualifications or gives the permission to practice? These hospitals are accused of levying astronomical fees for the various operations they undertake.
The authority overseeing these hospitals is the Ministry of Health, but what the public want to know is whether these hospitals are under the active supervision of the Ministry – which we hope they should be.
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