By Nader Al-Anzi
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
TABUK – The Ministry of Labor and Social Development has issued directives to stop hiring foreign doctors in its bid to find jobs for the huge number of Saudi doctors in the ministry’s waiting list. Dr. Ayed Al-Harthy, director general of human resources at the ministry, has sent a circular in this respect to all directorates of health affairs in various provinces and governorates across the Kingdom.
The ministry will implement this directive in coordination with the Ministry of Health (MoH). According to the latest figures, there are a total of 28,464 foreign doctors working in hospitals under MoH.
This directive follows the decision to stop hiring foreign dentists to provide job opportunities for Saudis. The ministry announced this decision during a joint workshop with MoH held on Tuesday in Riyadh to encourage the employment of Saudi dentists. Ministry figures showed that there are 26 dental colleges in the Kingdom, eight of which are private. An average of 3,000 dental graduates hope to join the labor market annually. The number of officially registered dentists in 2015 was 10,150, of which 5,946 were Saudis.
