Public Health: Staff Shortages and Lack of Comfort Drive Patients Away
Public Health: According to Dr. Dawood Oaris, patients are not abandoning public services due to inadequate care, but rather to seek privacy and comfort, which are often lacking in public facilities. He also highlights the poor communication between patients and healthcare staff: the number of consultations per hour is too high, leaving little time for meaningful interaction.
The president of the private clinics association states that as long as the ministry does not hire enough staff, public services cannot improve, and new infrastructures will remain underutilized. He also warns that the staff risks burnout due to overwork.
For public services to reach the level of private clinics, Dr. Oaris emphasizes that care quality is already good, with competent doctors and specialists. What is missing, according to him, is communication and the hospitality aspect. Regarding the policy to encourage the establishment of foreign hospitals to stimulate competition, he believes this is not the solution: "Every investor aims to make profits. Hence, competition will be fiercer."
Dr. Meetheelesh Abeeluck, president of the Government Medical and Dental Officers Association (GMDOA), notes that patients choose private care for comfort and quick treatments, without long waiting lists. He points out that a major constraint in public service is the lack of staff and the large volume of patients to be seen.
"It’s not just an issue of infrastructure or lack of personnel; it’s a complex set of challenges that need to be addressed to restore public confidence," emphasizes Dr. Abeeluck. He advocates for an expansion of the range of medications and proposes a flat-rate payment system for certain services.
A public service physician agrees and laments the shortage of general practitioners and specialists. A doctor can see ten patients in an hour in private practice compared to about forty in three hours in the public sector. "If there were more doctors in hospitals, each could spend more time with every patient," he states. Furthermore, private clinics have heavily invested in state-of-the-art equipment, while the public service lacks essential resources.