Minister visits Kuwaiti patients in UK hospitals
All out help pledged
LONDON, Feb 28, (KUNA): Kuwait’s Minister of Health Dr Mohammad Al-Haifi has visited a number of Kuwaiti patients, including children suffering from cancer, undergoing treatment at British hospitals, affirming keenness on providing them with all needed facilities and tackling any problems they might face.
Dr Al-Haifi, in a statement to KUNA, said he visited Great Ormond Street Hospital, which hosts one of the top centers for treatment of child cancer in the world, and Wellington Hospital in London, one of the largest independent hospitals in the United Kingdom. It has an international reputation for outstanding care in areas of medicine including cardiac services, neurosurgery and liver and many others.
The minister said he listened to remarks made by relatives accompanying the patients, regarding issues such as some drawbacks in services, re-affirming the state keenness on following up on conditions of the citizens receiving medical treatment in the UK, in particular, and other countries in general.
At Ormond hospital, Dr Al-Haifi inspected condition of 12 Kuwaiti children undergoing treatment and inquired about any inconveniences. He was briefed by nurses about condition of the Kuwaiti patients, who despite their health condition decorated their rooms and corridors of the hospital with the Kuwaiti flags in celebration of the National Days.
Dr Al-Haifi, who was granted a memorial gift by the management of the hospital, said he instructed the Kuwaiti health center to furnish the ill children with all their needs.
In a statement to the Kuwaiti News Agency after visiting the health center, late on Wednesday, Dr Al-Haifi pointed out the Kuwaiti authorities have been sending a number of patients abroad due to lack of the requirements to ensure proper treatment for them at home. He however expressed satisfaction at the level of the services, provided at the Kuwaiti hospitals and medical centers.
The Kuwaiti hospitals, he said, have made strides “in conducting complex operations,” calling on citizens to change the predominant concept of favoring medical treatment abroad. “We have some of the best Kuwaiti medical cadres and doctors of great skills in various specialties, however there are some diseases that need to be treated abroad due to difficulties of treating them locally as well as due to the need for some specialists.” In answer to a question about errors that take place at government hospitals in Kuwait, the minister noted that such mistakes happen not only in Kuwait but also in some of the most advanced nations, noting that, according to official reports, number of such cases in Britain increased from more than 36,000 in 2005 to 86,000 in 2007.
Dr Al-Haifi stressed that those responsible for medical errors should be held accountable, but indicated that the number of such cases in Kuwait is small compared to such occurrences in a number of internationally renowned hospitals.