In many Third World and/or developing countries, providing quality, medical care to the many individuals in need is often woefully inadequate. Often, the main problems are a lack of trained health care workers (including physicians, surgeons, nurses and others), a lack of equipment and sanitary, modern facilities, a lack of proper training and education among current health care personnel and, as is especially true in countries like Yemen, poor hospital or health care facility management:
Hospitals and health centers in urban areas are overstaffed, yet there are shortages of doctors and other health workers in rural areas and not enough money for supplies, drugs and equipment and maintenance. The physical conditions with hospitals and health centers fall below levels of acceptability. It is common to find broken water and sewerage systems. A recent report on diagnostic services indicated that not a single laboratory in Yemen meets basic international standards. It is no exaggeration to state that in the current conditions in hospitals it is almost impossible to practice good medicine and to provide modern standards of care. Some of the problems are caused by a lack of funding, but perhaps 50% of what little there is available is lost through theft, wastage and inefficiency attributable to poor management. There needs to be radical change.
This analysis will cover the state of hospital management in the Middle East, with a focus on Yemen and some of the proposed changes that are underway or being planned with respect to more efficiency hospital management.
The Ministry of Public Health is more than aware of the woefully inadequate hospital management in Yemen and the Middle East in general. It has recently come under the new leadership of Dr. Abdullah Nasher who is determined to produce the radical changes necessary as quickly as possible. The attack taken by Nasher is a dualistic one that includes not only decen...