His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, has affirmed that the Organizational Structure recently adopted by the Ministry of Health (MOH) is compatible with the expansion and significant growth witnessed by the Ministry over the past decades on the one hand, and, on the other, keeps pace with the global changes in health systems. It is also projected to promote the Ministry's preventive and curative programs.
He wished that the newly assigned health cadres and senior officers will incur this new structure and put it into action, with a view to providing best-quality health services for patients, and making every effort to maintain their health and safety, an gain their contentment; thus activating the MOH slogan: “Patient first”.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Health, Dr. Al-Rabeeah, following the Fourth Meeting of the MOH Executive Board, held at his office under his chairmanship, with the attendance of the Ministry's senior officers recently assigned to a number of the Ministry's leading positions.
Dr. Al-Rabeeah emphasized that the Ministry has pursued a very earnest manner in dealing with contractors, in order for the health projects to be accomplished in due time. He said, “Health projects throughout the Kingdom's regions and provinces are witnessing vigorous progress. It is true that some projects are floundered, but this is owing to reasons beyond MOH. The Ministry has always been paying close attention to the relevant authorities, seeking to remove the obstacles and impediments hindering work progress, and put forward systemic solutions meant to accomplish these projects as planned.”
The meeting discussed new policies aimed to pursue better and more precise methods in conducting tenders. Participants, besides, discussed the demanded developmental communication projects, especially those required for connecting health practitioners with pagers. To date, 162 hospitals have been connected with some 30.000 pagers, and telephone switches have been altered and renovated in 121 locations. Also, MOH has been linked with its facilities and directorates through internal high-tech communication devices.
The meeting has approved the criteria and mechanism of receiving orthodontics cases at the MOH's specialized dental centers, giving priority to curative and critical cases. Participants approved, also, a proposal for developing an information network for newborns care, in cooperation with the Canadian Perinatal Network (CPN). This comes within the framework of the UN Millennium Development Goals, with regard to reducing perintal mortality worldwide, by means of forming a communication group of experts from all over the world. In addition, they approved the establishment of a database for cardiovascular diseases in the Kingdom, basically intended to provide distinguished healthcare for cardiovascular patients at the Ministry's specialized centers, in cooperation with the Saudi Heart Association.
As the meeting drew to a close, His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, underscored the importance of the projects discussed and approved by the members of the MOH Executive Board. He described these projects as “quality-related” projects, since they aim at preserving citizens' health, thus simulating their counterparts in the Developed World.