JEDDAH: Princess Adilah bint Abdullah has said that there is a pressing need for streamlining home health care.

“Statistics show that 4.5 percent of Saudis have health problems that need constant and urgent care,” she said, commenting on the two-day Social and Medical Home Health Care Conference, which begins Tuesday. “The issues range from chronic diseases to disabilities, and a very high percentage of them require home support,” said Princess Adilah, who is president of the National Home Health Care Foundation’s Western Province branch.

Aiming to introduce the qualities and benefits of home health care to the key decision makers in the health sector, the upcoming conference will present the latest concepts of home health care to multidisciplinary health care providers. Its speakers include a number of medical personalities from the Kingdom and abroad.

The first session of the conference will include a welcoming note from Princess Adilah, followed by a speech on the home health care strategy by Minister of Health Hamad Al-Manie. A number of panel discussions and sessions will follow.

“We hope that by bringing these issues to light and opening a dialogue between the medical institutions, the government organizations and the key targets, we will be able to further develop and address the needs and the means,” Princess Adilah said.

“Today this matter not only affects the patients and the medical community but also the social and public awareness as a whole. A decade has passed since the founding of the National Home Health Care Foundation which has supported the setting up of a number of home health care centers and today we look forward to the next decade in enhancing this initiative and taking the lead to learn from and adapt global standards to further expand on the quality of health services.”

The National Home Health Care Foundation began its operations 10 years ago. A non-profit organization, its aim is to maximize the quality of life for needy patients in their own home environment.

“We look forward to establishing a network between home health care providers and this conference is a key component in addressing such a need,” Princess Adilah said, adding that the feedback received from the medical community and the public and private sector was overwhelming.

Over 600 delegates have registered to participate in the conference. Sponsoring the event are Dallah Albaraka and Saudi