The MOH Undersecretary for Executive Affairs Dr. Mansour Al-Hawasi urged the new 50 bed hospital managers to assimilate the different cultures in the hospitals and utilize them for the benefit of health services. "Many workers in our hospitals come from different nationalities and cultures, thus reflecting the cultural background from which they arrived", He said in the inaugural address of a training course for preparing new hospital managers, which was organized at the MOH Training Center in Riyadh.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister of Health Dr. Hamad Al-Mane, Dr. Al-Hawasi requested the new managers to be aware of the many difficulties involved in directing new hospitals. He urged them to work hard for establishing the new hospitals in accordance with the best administrative standards.
"The new managers must undertake the responsibility of solving the problems confronting their hospitals", he said. "They must exert efforts to find solutions for such problems instead of reporting to the directors of health affairs".
He said opening 21 hospitals in only one year is a great achievement for which he expressed his gratitude to the High Leadership, who spares no effort in providing all assistance for promoting health services.
On his part, the Director General of Hospitals Dr. Ali Al-Qahtani said the health system is witnessing recently several technological, informational, and quality challenges. "Such challenges, in addition to the challenges of coping with international developments, as well as the challenges imposed by the fast developments in the methods of hospital management, lays great responsibilities on the shoulders of the new managers", he said.
He said MOH has utilized all its capabilities for developing qualified manpower required for undertaking the administrative, medical and technical duties.
"We have set a training program for rehabilitating the nominees for directing the new 50 bed hospitals, the first such program, in coordination with the General Directorate of Training and Scholarship", he said. "The program aims to provide them with the basic skills required for their new task, including the basics of hospital management, the basics of health care quality, the regulations controlling the works of 50 bed hospitals, and the basic skills for effective management (problem solving, decision making, management of time and meetings, effective communication, the art of serving customers, etc)".