SAUDI ARABIA

One doctor for 358 patients

February 19, 2018

By Hussein Hazzazi

Okaz/Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH — There are 23,979 Saudi doctors out of a total of 89,675 medical practitioners working in 274 Saudi hospitals, according to the latest Ministry of Health statistics.

These doctors serve 31,742,308 patients. This means, one doctor serves 358 patients.

Apparently, there is a huge shortage of Saudi doctors despite the annual government support of SR120 billion. This shortage has affected the quality of medical services and increased reliance on non-Saudi doctors.

A total of 71,775 of students enrolled in medical colleges this year, according to the MOH statistics.

There are 10,791 graduates, with women representing 54.9%.

There are 2,971 Saudi doctors working in the private sector. Government hospitals, however, continue to suffer from the shortage of doctors despite the Ministry of Health’s efforts to bridge the gap.

Privatization is one of the solutions which can help develop and improve the services of the healthcare sector as well as cut down expenses.

The Kingdom’s healthcare sector is the largest in the Gulf and the one to which the government allocates a big chunk of the budget.

The Saudi government has earmarked 13% of expenses to develop the healthcare sector since 2010.

It also works nonstop to improve the quality of the services in line with Vision 2030.

The government is planning to privatize the sector and create a conducive investment environment for local and international investors as well as raise the private sector’s contribution to the sector by 35% by 2020.

The Ministry of Health recently revealed a plan before the Shoura Council to privatize all government-run hospitals. A state-run company or group of companies will be established to own and run the state hospitals.

A recent report showed that the number of hospitals increased by 15% between 2008 and 2014.

Today, there are 312 state hospitals and 141 private hospitals.

The Shoura Council demanded that all Saudis should get health insurance before privatization begins. Health insurance will be mandatory for each and every citizen.

Some 12 million private sector employees and their family members have health insurance cover.

Saudis represent 20 % of them, according to the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance.


February 19, 2018
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