Monitors report bad hygiene, unprofessional staff at public health centre

AMMAN — A Public Sector Development Ministry team has conducted an unannounced visit to a healthcare centre in Qweismeh, uncovering various irregularities. 

During the visit team members did not find the director in his office or any of the officials in the vaccination room, according to a ministry statement sent to The Jordan Times on Tuesday. 

The team found children playing around with important files as the rooms were open, which could lead to the loss of important documents or the damage of machines and appliances.

The team recorded their observations in a report that was sent to Prime Minister Abdullah Ensour, and a copy was also sent to the Ministry of Health.  

Before the visit, the team collected information related to the centre’s website and the method of which the operator answers those in need of health services, the statement said, adding that only the mobile number was available which they attempted to call five times with no answer.  

According to the report, the centre is located in a commercial and crowded area, occupying the second and third floors of a building. 

There are no parking spots for patients, and no signs showing where the health centre is located.  

The entrance of the building is not accessible for people with disabilities, and the space inside is small with an evident hole in the ground that could injure people as they enter. Due to the small space inside the building, it would also be hard for people to move around, the statement said. 

The lack of organised queues in the centre causes chaos when customers buy medicine, aside from the fact that the walls and rooms are in need of maintenance and rehabilitation. 

The report also said that there are no waiting rooms available for patients or seats that would accommodate the number of people in the centre. 

The three restrooms available in the building are also unsuitable, as the one on the first floor is being used a storage room, the one on the second floor is being used by all patients in the centre, and the third is only to be used by employees. All three restrooms also show to have poor hygiene.  

The report revealed that employees use labs and emergency rooms as spaces to “eat and socialise”; labels for rooms are spread randomly and some are not even printed but rather handwritten on walls and doors. 

The ministry report also revealed that the receptionists give priority to patients they know rather than serving everyone. 

Patients in clinics are diagnosed in front of everyone with no privacy as doors stay open, and people in the waiting rooms were seen smoking, the statement said.

The ministry team also highlighted the absence of signs explaining the procedures to admit patients, noting that there are no complaints and suggestions boxes either. 

The team observed that the employees did not wear ID badges, while some doctors were seen prescribing medication for patients without proper diagnosis.

Recommendations called for coordination with the Greater Amman Municipality to rehabilitate the centre and address the problems that were found 

Unannounced visits are made to evaluate public services as part of the executive plan of the Public Sector Development Ministry.