Okaz/Saudi Gazette

TAIF — A number of kidney transplant and renal failure patients have complained about shortage of medicines at King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital in Taif.

“Medicines supplied by a different manufacturers were causing life-threatening complications,” said Abdullah Mudhish, one of the patients.

“My prescription contained seven medicines but I got only two of them at the hospital,” he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette.

Mudhish had to purchase the remaining medicines from private pharmacies and they included medicines for blood pressure as well as magnesium and calcium tablets.

“This situation has left the patients like me in a financial and health crisis,” he said. “It has forced us to purchase alternative medicines that worsen our health condition,” he added.

Abdullah Al-Otaibi said kidney patients were facing the problem of medicine shortage for the last five months, especially following the closure of a public pharmacy exclusively for kidney patients.

Now the patients have to stay in long queues in front of the pharmacy for outpatients. “We are sorry to say that the Health Affairs in Taif is not taking care of kidney patients properly,” Al-Otaibi said.

Dialysis is done at the Taif Kidney Center four times and the patients have to approach private centers for the remaining sessions, which cost them SR3,000 to SR5,000 monthly.

Ahmed Al-Saeedi also expressed his dissatisfaction about the services at King Abdulaziz Hospital. “We don’t get the required treatment at this public hospital and this has forced us to approach private hospitals and clinics, paying huge amounts of money,” he said.

He added that the hospital lacked medicines for blood pressure, heart diseases and hemophilia, a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body’s ability to make blood clots. “Alternative medicines supplied by the hospital cause lots of complications,” he said.

Al-Saeedi said the hospital gave him only half of the medicines prescribed by the doctor and this resulted in deteriorating his condition like many other patients.

“We have been denied access to senior hospital officials to inform them about our grievances. Whenever we request time for a meeting, we are always given the reply that they are in a meeting. This means the officials are not bothered about patients and their problems,” he said.

Salim Al-Otaibi spoke about the congestion at the Kidney Center of King Abdulaziz Hospital. “We also find it difficult to get a parking place on its premises,” he said.

There are about 500 kidney and renal failure patients in Taif while 700 others have undergone kidney transplant operations.

Al-Otaibi denounced the ministry’s poor response to patient demands.

Abdulhadi Al-Rubaiee, spokesman for Taif Health Affairs, denied the allegations that public hospitals and clinics in the city faced shortage of medicines.

“We have supplied enough medicines for transplant and kidney patients at the hospital as well as for the treatment of other chronic ailments such as blood pressure and heart diseases. Some patients refuse to accept alternative medicines supplied by other companies. In such cases, they have to wait until the arrival of specific brands they are looking for,” he added.