OKAZ newspaper

EDUCATION and health sectors have the greatest support from the government, both financially and morally. Saudi Vision 2030 has allocated these sectors with the largest of budgets for their development above all government and private organizations. Likewise, it has given priority for the education sector, which is considered the most vital for economic development.

On the other hand, today the health sector is not getting much support from the concerned ministry. However, in the past there was huge support for Saudi medical graduates from inside and outside the country. At that time, the ministry sought a royal order to guarantee jobs for every Saudi doctor freshly graduating. Notably, this has encouraged students to get into medicine, which is one of the most difficult specialties.

Indeed the number of Saudi graduate doctors specialized in dentistry and general medicine has increased, but the orientation has changed and orders concerning recruitment decisions for medical graduates got interrupted. Also, the policy of paying a monthly salary to every medical intern in governmental hospitals has been discontinued. The number of doctors working in the Ministry of Health is about 27,500 and 11,172 of them are Saudis, according to statistics released by the ministry last year. The unemployed doctors looking for work and listed by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties in its “Jadara” and “Taqat” databases include 5,723 doctors with bachelor degrees and 72 doctors with higher diplomas. At the same time, 1,144 medical students are expected to graduate from outside the country soon, in addition to 3,210 graduates from Saudi medical colleges. Unfortunately, the number of unemployed Saudi doctors is going to increase to 10,000 dentists and general practitioners. While the number of dentists in the country does not exceed more than 10,000, a quarter of them are Saudis. This implies that there is a problem in the policy of the Ministry of Health regarding internship and employment of fresh medical graduates.

This case is a true example of how economic and human resources are being wasted. Saudi Arabia has invested billions of riyals for educating its students inside and outside the country, especially in the medical field. Medical students are particularly being invested in as they face many obstacles until they graduate. In addition, they wait for a period of four to five years before they are actually employed. This situation is essentially dangerous as the number of medical graduates keeps increasing annually.

This confirms the failure of the Ministry of Health’s plans for accommodating graduates into government hospitals and health centers.

The high rate of unemployment among Saudi doctors and dentists is a very serious and disturbing indicator in the labor market. Ignoring these facts will lead to a disaster at the nation’s cost. I wish the Ministry conducted an investigation and held those who caused this issue accountable.

Unfortunately, there are unconvincing responses from the senior Ministry of Health officials regarding the question of how graduates can gain experience if there aren’t any internship opportunities. I expected the officials to defer their decision regarding the internship programs, which was discontinued without any reason, in order to accommodate all medical graduates.

I also propose that the family medicine major should be made available in all medical schools due to its importance in providing health care to citizens in all regions of the Kingdom. If this specialty is available, patients will visit family doctors first before they consult specialists, which will reduce the pressure on them.

In addition, there should be a health center in each neighborhood with at least two or three family practitioners.

Most developed countries are interested in family medicine specialists, who are available all around the world. For example, family doctors constitute 50 percent of all doctors in Britain, 45 percent in Canada, and 40 percent in Spain. In the Kingdom, a study revealed that the ratio of family practitioners does not exceed 4 percent. Most of them are foreign doctors, who are hard to deal with because the language barrier. It has been indicated that there is a significant gap in the specialty of family practitioner in Saudi Arabia. The reason behind this is the lack of medical schools that offer this specialty at the postgraduate level.

I also propose the establishment of specialized centers for distinguished Saudi consultants in order to enrich their professional acumen and ensure that they do not waste their expertise by getting involved in administrative work whether in private or government hospitals.

The increasing number of unemployed doctors is the biggest indicator of the failure of the Ministry of Health, even if their capabilities are weak. However, the ministry should transmit a true picture to the leadership, which I am sure will not procrastinate in addressing this important issue.