MOH News

HE Minister of Health: The Kingdom is Committed Towards Health Care
10 May 2011
HE Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz Al Rabeeah, affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, like most nations, is committed to providing the best possible healthcare for all. The Ministry of Health develops all of its plans and programs to meet the health service needs of all citizens, according to directives from our country’s leaders.        
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During his opening remarks at a seminar entitled “Health Services Provided by the Ministry of Health: Today’s Reality and Aspirations for the Future,” HE Dr. Al Rabeeah stated that the nation’s integrated national healthcare plan aims to ensure equal access to health services for all, and sets national and international standards for service quality and cost.  The seminar took place on Tuesday, May 10, 2011, and was organized by the Institute of Public Administration.  
 
HE went on to say that the Ministry is dedicated to achieving many significant projects Kingdom wide, and that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has directed him to establish medical cities across the Kingdom to allow for the equal distribution of health services to all. The Ministry has recently launched a number of health programs for patient health services and has provided well trained staff for these services. These programs include Bed Management, One-Day Surgery, Patient Relations, Domestic Medicine, Quality Control and Clinical Medicine. In addition, an e-program for patient satisfaction will be launched soon, along with many other technical, administrative and electronic projects. ​
 
HE noted that healthcare face many challenges, including a shortage of permanent, highly-qualified staff, the high cost of healthcare and the high expectations of service beneficiaries. In addition, there is an increasing rate of chronic disease cases (i.e., diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, renal diseases and road accidents), all of which put a heavy burden on national and international resources.

General Manager of the Institute of Public Administration, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Shegawi, stated this seminar is the result of the year’s ambitious programming plans for the institution.  The goals of the seminar are to highlight the current reality of MOH healthcare services and to discuss obstacles to growth, as well as solutions.  The Kingdom is dedicated to supporting and developing infrastructure and health services.  The amount of funding available for healthcare has increased by more than 9% to a total of more than SR 16 billion.

Dr. Al Shegawi pointed out that some studies and reports showed progress in some health facilities, but also showed a decrease in the availability of health services in some areas.  Another challenge is the problem of long waiting lists faced by patients who need treatment in many governmental hospitals.

The seminar discussed nine reports dealing with health service vision and status; the results of these reports were scheduled to be discussed during the seminar. The Ministry of Health and the Institution of Public Administration also signed a training agreement under which the institute will carry out 669 training programs for 16,130 Ministry personnel. 



Last Update : 27 June 2011 02:06 PM
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