RIYADH, 8 September 2007 — General practitioners at primary health care centers across the KIngdom are being replaced with family doctors, a spokesman from the Ministry of Health said yesterday.
"We have started this new project in Riyadh and we are currently covering (the city's) suburbs," said Khaled Mirghalani told Arab News. "It will be gradually extended to the other PHCs in the Kingdom," he said.
He added that the change in emphasis on primary health care service is due to changes in people's lifestyles that lead to high incidence of diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular problems, requiring more preventative care.
"Currently in the Kingdom, the doctor-patient ratio is 1:4,000, but we intend to bring it down to 1:400," Mirghalani said, adding that the program would focus on increasing the number of current primary health care centers to focus on family medicine.
The Kingdom is planning to have 2,000 health centers within the next two years. The ministry is currently constructing 1,010 PHCs at a cost of SR5.6 billion. The health minister recently signed four agreements with private sector establishments for the construction of 440 PHCs at a cost of SR1.844 billion.
These clinics will be built in Riyadh, Qasim, Dammam, Al-Jouf, Jeddah, Makkah and Tabuk. Early this year, contracts were awarded to build 570 PHCs in Asir, Jizan, Hail, Najran, Baha, the Northern Border Region and Al-Majma.
The ministry has already hired 4,000 family doctors and another 7,000 will be recruited in the next two years, the official said. Physicians specializing in nutrition, psychology and counseling will also be made available in the new primary health centers.
The ministry has plans to send Saudi doctors to Arab countries such as Egypt, Sudan and Tunisia to specialize in family medicine.
The ministry has appointed 12 committees to study the implementation of the new primary health care plan.
"Family medicine has been recognized as a specialized discipline and those pursuing advanced studies in this field will be given higher salaries," Mirghalani said, adding that there was a great demand for family doctors in Western countries, which pay high salaries to attract specialists in community and family medicine.
Some 50,000 physicians are currently working in the Kingdom serving a population of 26 million. In the primary health care sector alone, there are 10,000 physicians working in the government, public and private sectors.
The ministry will soon hold a nationwide campaign to enlighten the public about the need to implement the family medicine program. "Many people are not aware of the benefits of family doctors and their duties," Mirghalani said.
