RIYADH: The Kingdom has drawn up a national health plan on the instructions of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, said Health Minister Hamad Al-Manie while inaugurating a symposium on the role of Saudi doctors in the health system.
“The ministry has approved the health plan and it has been forwarded to a committee of experts to work out the modalities,” said Al-Manie. He added that the new plan is designed to coordinate the work among service providers, financiers and beneficiaries. The minister said that it took two years for the ministry officials to prepare the plan.
According to the new plan, the ministry will have a board in each health region to evaluate and supervise the implementation of public health care services. “The respective bodies will directly report to the ministry headquarters in the capital,” he said.
Al-Manie said 42 new hospitals have been established and 40 more will be completed by the end of the year.
A coordinating body will be set up to monitor the services of the hospitals throughout the Kingdom and a national health fund will also be set up this year.
Commending the services of Saudi doctors, the minister said they have earned fame both in and outside the Kingdom for their efficiency and perseverance.
“Some of them are working in countries such as Canada and the United States,” he said.
The seminar, sponsored by the Health Services Council, was held in Dammam in association with the GCC Health Ministers Council, the Saudi Society for Family and Community Medicine and the General Directorate of Health.
Dr. Othman Al-Rabeeah, chairman of the Health Services Council, said this was the third such seminar to be held in the Kingdom on this subject.
“Our purpose is to update our Saudi doctors on the latest advances in the field of health care,” he said.
