Sat 27 Aug 2005
This piece of news comes from today’s AlQabas newspaper regarding the number of lawsuits filed against the Ministry of Health -
Basically, there have been 300 lawsuits filed against the Ministry of Health and its doctors in the past 3 years, which is an average of 100 per year. I really don’t know if this number is considered to be a high one when compared to other countries, especially when we put in mind the number of surgeries that are performed in all the government hospitals.
At first I was interested in reading the article because it was on the front page and because it doesn’t tell the reader that it is in the span of 3 years!
For this information to be useful, the reader needs some other information, such as -
- The number of surgeries performed in the past 3 years, to get an idea of the percentage of lawsuits per surgery.
- The number of cases filed here compared to the numbers of other countries.
- The number of cases filed against private hospitals in Kuwait to compare it with the Ministry of Health.
In short, it is hard to take much out of that article in my opinion!
I have often heard that the level of care provided by the government hospitals is really good and is significantly better than what is provided in private hospitals in this country. I’m not quite sure about this, but I have been told this from people who are involved in the medical field from both the private and the government hospitals.
14 Responses to “Government vs. Private health care”
Leave a Reply
Visitor stats
-
user(s) online
so far
August 27th, 2005 at 12:05 am
I prefer ‘6ib sha3bee’.
August 27th, 2005 at 1:30 am
Private hospitals in Kuwait use most of the facilities in government hospitals, hence might as well go to government hospitals. Plus you would save money
August 27th, 2005 at 2:20 am
I just think you wait longer at public hospitals, literally. I did hear from many people that they’ve gotten a better ‘once over’ by a doctor at govt. hospitals, but they also said that the ambience is not as ‘nice’ as private hospitals. I guess privacy makes it more comfortable.
August 27th, 2005 at 9:04 am
I guess treatment matters just as well. I mean… if you ask a nurse for water in the private hospitals, they’ll get it for you… bes fe il governmental ones, she’ll point and grunt, “here’s the barada.”
Oo the smell… I get dizzy, literally, fe general hospitals.
Madry.
^_______________^
August 27th, 2005 at 9:58 am
Private or public, when we’re talking about doctors they’re all the same, patient waiting; the same whether with appointment or without, the only difference is that public hospitals are more equipped with medical instruments and for some cases even if you get treatment in a private hospital you’ll end up in a public one just because they do not have the right facilities like incubators for premature babies or bone marrow testing labs, so if you can afford it, get your treatment abroad.
August 27th, 2005 at 10:34 am
Comparing Hospitals in Kuwait to those abroad are like asking a person if they would prefer to ride a moped to syria or a maybach to beirut.
August 27th, 2005 at 10:54 am
Private hospitals in Kuwait are a rip off! Public ones are ok as long as you know a good doctor for your case
August 27th, 2005 at 1:13 pm
not all private hospitals are that bad, and even if they were a rip off, I would pay extra knowing that I would walk out alive.
my friend’s aunt was in a gov hospital for a regular flu shot and she passed away cause they gave her something else shot!! sorry but no sirry not me! either private or away.
August 27th, 2005 at 1:24 pm
shosho, eee with purg as ur doctor, ri7tay/ri7t feeha ;P
joudz, its a good point, for many ppl, the price is the deciding factor and not quality, not out of choice of course!
erzulie, when it comes to ambience, there is no comparison! Government hospitals definitely are ur typical “government buildings” from the way its built to the way its managed and run! Amiri hospitals has made alot of improvements in terms of ambience, its actually nice now, but it needs more work, especially from the outside!
aqua, maybe the treatment has to do with the salary? Do nurses and other workers in private hospitals get better pay than government? Also, a couple of months ago we heard about strikes by nurses and workers in hospitals, but it was only gov’t, so maybe their pay makes them despise their job and not worth taking the extra effort?
ayya, so ill take it that ur order would be abroad, gov’t, then private?
thekuwaiti, lol!!
petita, I agree with that totally
sponta, this comes back to the case discussed in top of the post, things like that shouldnt happen, but unfortunately they do happen everywhere! I know of stories like that (did not end in death thank god, but couldve) that happened in private hospitals and abroad!
August 27th, 2005 at 2:16 pm
The worst thing about hospitals here is the lack of hygiene..the dude carrying the blood and trash and toxic material uses the same dirty gloves to wipe down your examination table and hand stuff to the doctor..I left the Razi refusing to have a broken bone put in a cast because i was so nauseous from the filth and lack of basic regulations about cleanliness. And the quality of care in the private clinics is expensive for basically the same ‘take an Adol and see how you feel’ care..they are slightly cleaner..
Also watch out for the doctors who perform circumcision..the amount of mistakes they make..one doctor just refused to meet with some parents I know after he basically mutilated their son..he just ignored them..when they talked to nurses about it, they were told it happens often.
August 27th, 2005 at 4:33 pm
There is a good side to all this, it is not as complicated as the health system in the US. 300 Lawsuits because of malpractice is a high number, doctors should really try the impossible to not make a single mistake. But it happens.
The thing is, in the US there has been a huge conflict over health costs rising because of increases in lawsuits. Insurance is kind of affordable in the US and many have to literally go for second of third degree treatment because of that. Have you seen the movie John Q? That is how it can get in the U.S.
Just in the news, a couple of months ago, thousands of nurses went on strike in California because of low pay! Imagine that happening in Kuwait…!
August 27th, 2005 at 5:37 pm
Well i prefer private or even better abroad. My grandmother nearly died from a government hospital. Moreover, once i went to a government hospital to treat an infection in my eyes; when i went back home oo yeet bakhith ilga6ra..wila agra the medicine that i took was for the ears not the eyes! It was also expired! So i went back to the hospital and told them what happened; they just took it back and gave me another one, like nothing happened! I guess that happens often!!
August 27th, 2005 at 6:32 pm
yesssss
August 27th, 2005 at 10:55 pm
i voted for government, cuz what i understoot is that if i was going to have a surgery where to go.
Private sector in Kuwait Kinda sucks, they give more medeicines, and things that you do not need inorder to raise the price, but it is much comfortable.