Amman, Aug. 15 (Petra) – Minister of Health Dr. Ibrahim Bdour has directed establishment of new clinics to assess patients referred from health centers on the same day.
The process covers all specialties of surgery and orthopedics, and now including other specialties, such as internal medicine, pediatrics, and obstetrics/gynecology.
These patients will receive medical treatment and then be referred to subspecialty clinics – if needed – at Al-Bashir and Hamza hospitals.
As for its goals, this initiative aims to expedite access to specialized services for patients referred from health centers in Amman and reduce waiting times and appointment lengths in these specialties, which previously extended for months.
According to the directives issued Saturday, the patient assessment clinics will begin receiving new patients referred from health centers in the capital Amman, starting next Tuesday, August 18.
These patients will be assessed on the same day to determine their need for specialized services and the appropriate procedure for their condition, which would cut their treatment journey and accelerate their access to necessary care.
The clinics will also assess patients with long waiting lists at other clinics and their subspecialties, rescheduling their appointments according to medical need.
This effort will help reduce waiting times and make better use of the available capacity at both hospitals.
In a statement Saturday, Bdour stated that there will be no new patient appointments at the clinics of Al-Bashir and Prince Hamza hospitals.
He said these new clinics are part of the ministry's plan to reorganize patient flow and enhance integration between health centers and hospitals.
Patients who can only need primary healthcare will be treated at health centers, he said, while cases requiring specialized care will be referred to hospitals.
He noted that these measures align with Prime Minister Dr. Jaafar Hassan's directives to improve the level of healthcare services provided to citizens, raise efficiency of the healthcare system, and facilitate patient access to medical services, particularly in specialties experiencing high patient volume.
On its current vision, he stated the ministry is "simultaneously" working to redesign operations of health centers adjacent to the capital's hospitals and enhance their capacity to provide diagnostic, treatment, and follow-up services within primary healthcare specialties.
This procedure, he noted, ensures that patients are directed to receive the appropriate level of care from the beginning of their treatment journey.
As a first step, he announced this approach will be implemented at Hamza and Al-Bashir hospitals, which will be carried out by other hospitals experiencing overcrowding and delays in appointments for patients referred from health centers.
This plan complements the ministry's approach to organizing medical referrals and linking health centers with hospitals "more effectively," which would reduce overcrowding, regulate patient flow, and improve efficiency of staff and available resources, he pointed out.
He affirmed the ministry's continued commitment to assess needs of health districts and develop mechanisms for receiving and referring patients, which would ensure their "smooth" access to appropriate services, cut waiting times, and improve quality of healthcare provided to citizens.
//Petra// AG
