Ibrahim Alawi
JEDDAH — On behalf of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Emir of Makkah and Adviser to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Prince Khaled Al-Faisal opened on Tuesday two mega health facilities in Jeddah.
The projects consist of the first phases of King Abdullah Medical Complex (KAMC) in north Jeddah and the East Jeddah Hospital (EJH) in the eastern parts of the city.
The ceremony was also attended by Jeddah Governor Prince Mishal Bin Majed, Minister of Health Khaled Al-Falih and other senior officials.
Speaking on the occasion, Prince Khaled said that the new projects would be instrumental in providing excellent healthcare services for the people of Jeddah and would increase the operational capacity of hospitals in the governorate.
He also underscored the keenness of King Salman in making available the best health facilities in all regions of the Kingdom.
Addressing the gathering, Al-Falih said the new projects give a qualitative boost to health services being provided to citizens and expatriates in the Jeddah governorate.
The first phase of KAMC consists of a specialized hospital for internal medicine and general surgery with a capacity of 500 beds which will reach 1,100 when all other projects are completed.
The facility also consists of a maternity and children hospital with a capacity of 400 beds and an eye hospital with 200 beds.
KAMC is built on an area of 266,000 square meters. Work on it started in May 2005. A center to quarantine coronavirus patients was established in the hospital which also has a nursery for newly-born babies with 20 beds and a unit with 16 beds for burns.
The complex has a 200-bed eye hospital and dentistry center with 100 clinics.
The EJH will have 300 beds in addition to 60 beds for kidney failure patients which will soon be increased by an additional 74 beds. The hospital will have a center for accidents and burns with a capacity of 200 beds.
The Emir also inaugurated 27 centers for primary health care in Jeddah and its various districts and regions.
“These projects will further boost the health services to citizens especially in Jeddah which is the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques,” the health minister said.
Work on the EJH began in April 2008 and was to be completed four years later. It was built at a cost of more than SR242 million and has four stories. The outpatient clinics, with all medical specializations, occupy two floors. It has a kidney dialysis center, an emergency and ambulance center and a unit for one-day surgeries.
