Before we express utmost anger at the health ministry, which really deserves a great deal of criticism over its officials' contradicting performances, namely with regard to treatment overseas, we have to admit that many people have been faking illnesses just to travel for medical treatment abroad. Some have delayed or ignored their medical appointments at overseas hospitals so that they could prolong their stay abroad as tourists at the expense of the overseas medical treatment department.

However, those few malingerers should not be taken as an excuse to judge the majority of others who really need such treatment. You cannot blame 10,000 (for instance) for mistakes committed by a 100. The majority of citizens dispatched overseas for medical treatment actually need it, and as a doctor himself, the health minister is obligated to see that they receive proper treatment. Some have got access to tickets and chances to travel for treatment abroad through an MP or an official, for instance. These can be easily detected because many of them skip their appointments with hospitals and demand prolonging their stay. Actually, most of those who travel for treatment with the help of MPs prolong their stays.

HH the PM Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak announced that no patient would return until completing his/her medical treatment abroad and to do this, MoH has verified the files of most patients abroad. Unfortunately, some cases that still need medical treatment have been called to return home. One of these cases is a female citizen who was sent for treatment to New York, where the hospital admitted that they made a mistake and subjected her to a surgery different from the one she needed, and promised to operate on her again on Sept 19. Nonetheless, MoH refused to extend her stay and insisted that she return home.

Your highness, the citizen tried all possible means, but her pleas fell on deaf ears, and is now torn between returning home with a medial error and undergoing the surgery at her own expense, which she cannot afford. Your highness is this patient's only hope because she does not only deserve overseas treatment, but she was also negatively affected by it through a medical error committed by a hospital contracted by the government. - Translated by Kuwait Times from Al-Anbaa

By Thaar Al-Rasheedi