Patients left in dark as hospital closes in Sharjah

Notice of closure at the gate of Central Private Hospital.

Hundreds of patients have been left high and dry after the Ministry of Health sealed a popular and low cost hospital for the second time in two years.
This time the multi-specialty Central Private Hospital has been shut down for two months, leaving patients confused and frustrated.
The 60-bed hospital is said to be the oldest private medical facility in the emirate and is popular among residents due to its low medical fee structure.
Patients visiting the hospital saw a red notice pasted by the Department of Control and Protection by the Economic Development Department of the Sharjah government on the main entrance.
Penalty for breaking the seal is Dh5,000, reads the notice.
Another notice pasted alongside the seal by the hospital management read: "As per the instructions of the Ministry of Health and due to maintenance work, the hospital will be closed for two months." The notice also lists a couple of numbers where patients can get in touch for assistance.
The closure was sudden and unannounced, said a number of patients, who until Tuesday were turning up to attend their fixed appointments and follow ups, unaware of the latest development.
Many of them were expectant mothers who had fixed appointments to deliver their babies in the hospital and many others who had paid in advance for services and surgeries, a repeat scenario of what happened when the hospital closed in January 2013.
An official from the ministry, who did not wish to be identified, said the hospital was given a week's notice to inform patients of the closure.
"We did not want the patients to suffer so we told the hospital that they have a week's time to inform all patients that they need to look for other places," said the official.
In January 2013 the hospital was shut down for three days due to lack of staff and improper equipment which was affecting its standards.
The official, however, did not give the reason why the hospital was shut down this time.
Adeel Mohammed, a Pakistani national whose wife delivered a baby boy on Monday, said his wife had initially opened a file with the hospital.
"Luckily we shifted to GMC in Ajman where my wife delivered recently," he said, explaining that he went back to Central Private Hospital for some documents but was told that he could not get them since the hospital was closed.
"I left my number with the security guard but I am yet to hear from the hospital," he said.
"How can a hospital be shut for maintenance and that too for two months?" Mohammed added.
A hospital representative whose phone number was listed on the notice board refused to talk to Khaleej Times.
However, patients were told to come back to the hospital after August 15.
The patients were also advised to speak to their treating doctors so that their files could be referred to other hospitals.
Calls and emails made by Khaleej Times to the hospital management went unanswered.
asmaalizain@khaleejtimes.com