JEDDAH, 20 August 2003 — Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, yesterday downplayed the continuing anti-Saudi smear campaign, saying: “We have become accustomed to such accusations and campaigns being leveled against us now and then. The fittest will survive.”
Speaking to reporters after opening the 245-bed new annex of King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital here, Prince Sultan commended the Saudi security forces for their efforts in arresting suspected terrorists in Riyadh and Jizan. “Our country is in secure hands,” he added.
Prince Sultan expressed his hope that the 445-bed King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, which has the latest medical facilities, would soon become one of the world’s best hospitals.
After unveiling the plaque, the minister toured the facilities at the hospital’s new annex including the departments for open-heart surgery, internal medicine, neurosurgery and pediatrics as well as special wards for patients.
Maj. Gen. Saleh Al-Oqail, director of the hospital, said the new expansion project was carried out at a cost of SR276 million by the Operation and Maintenance Department of the Medical Service Section of the armed forces.
The new six-floor annex comprises two operating rooms equipped with advanced surgical facilities including the facilities to carry out open-heart surgery as well as neurological procedures.
The hospital’s emergency ward with 32 beds is also equipped with modern facilities, Al-Oqail said while addressing those present at the ceremony. Each of the departments of internal medicine, cardiology and pediatrics has 56 beds.
The King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah, which was established in 1975, is considered one of the most advanced medical centers in the Kingdom and is manned by highly experienced doctors and specialists.
The Jeddah hospital comes under the Medical Service Section of the armed forces which runs 24 hospitals and health centers in various parts of the country. It carries out major heart and neurological operations.
Maj. Gen. Al-Oqail said the new expansion, which was carried out on an area of 26,000 square meters, increased the hospital’s capacity from 200 to 445 beds.
“The hospital’s specialty clinics have achieved international standards in terms of medical facilities and health services,” Kattab ibn Eid Al-Otaibi, director general of the Medical Service Department of the armed forces said.
There are more than 300 public and private hospitals in the Kingdom with a total of over 45,730 beds. In addition to these, the Kingdom has over 1,750 health centers.
