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Several people seeking treatment at the Qatar Red Crescent (QRC)-run Workers Health Centre (WHC) in the New Industrial Area have complained that they were unable to see a doctor on the same day because the clinic was not able to handle the huge turnout of patients. |
They said the staff at the centre refused to issue them a “token” after the day’s quota was finished despite them having travelled long distances to reach the place.
Responding to the complaint, QRC officials said the medical staff had been working beyond their capacity and they made sure that all workers got the best treatment through their “first come, first served” Q-Matic system.
During a visit to the WHC, Gulf Times found that the only medical facility for workers in the Industrial Area was overflowing with patients from all over Qatar.
While many workers were dropped at the centre by their company buses early in the morning to be picked up late in the afternoon or late in the evening, there were several others who had travelled by shared taxi to arrive at the far-off health facility.
The airconditioned waiting room at the centre begins to fill as soon as it opens at 6 in the morning. By 8am, around 800 tokens have already been issued to the workers, who wait until late in the night for their chance to see a doctor.
The centre operates seven general practitioner clinics and two internal medicine clinics in the morning shift (7am-2pm) and five general practitioner clinics in the afternoon shift (2pm-9pm).
On the day Gulf Times visited the facility, the workers who arrived after 8am were politely told by the staff that they had already exceeded the limit of the tokens that could be issued for the day and were asked to try their luck the next day.
Some of the workers demanded to see a doctor on the same day as they said they would not get leave from work again. Some workers who were told that they might be accommodated on an “absent” patient’s token chose to wait outside the clinic.
As the number of Qatar’s workforce increases, facilities such as the Workers Health Centre run by QRC in the Industrial Area are being overwhelmed.
A Sri Lankan worker, who has been working in Qatar for five years, said he developed a chronic asthma problem three years ago. He said he had been visiting the QRC clinic for many months now, but each time it was becoming more and more difficult for him to get the elusive “token”, which he needs for a checkup and “free medicines”. “I got the token today after my third attempt,” he said.
He appreciated the doctors at the clinic and said he was happy with the treatment he got.
A young Nepali worker was extremely disappointed after he failed to get a “token”. He said he was on treatment for “chest pain” and needed medicines. “I will try to come again tomorrow, but I don’t know if my superviser will allow me.” He had reached the facility by sharing a taxi with three others, each paying QR10.
A middle-aged Afghan man said he had been visiting the QRC-run centre for some years now and expressed his satisfaction with the quality of healthcare provided to him. “The treatment is good, but sometimes the wait is just too long. Especially if you come at 7am and end up getting seen at 3pm or even late in the evening,” he added.
There were several workers who were paying their first visit to the centre and did not even know there was a “token system” in place. “If I had known that there was a token system, I wouldn’t have taken leave today and wasted money to reach here. I just wish someone had told me before,” a Pakistani carpenter said.
Many workers also called for better means of public transport to the facility, which they said was inadequate at the moment .
QRC was assigned by the Supreme Council of Health to manage and operate a number of centres, including the WHC in the Industrial Area, Abu Nakhlah, Expatriates’ Medical Centre in Freej Abdul Aziz and Expatriates’ Medical Centre in Al Ma’mourah, besides Medical Commission units in Abu Hamour and the one next to the Workers Health Centre in the Industrial Area.
