There are 34,580 beds in the Kingdom, which include 4,120 beds in 33 new hospitals the ministry has added since 2009. The ministry also expects to add 32 more hospitals with 5,000 beds over the next two years, according to a ministry statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

The ministry opened 671 new health centers and will open 207 centers shortly, the statement said. There are 2,077 health centers in the Kingdom. Over the past three years 450 primary health centers have been renovated and modernized as part of a national project for the comprehensive and integrated health care.

The report also made it clear that there was no shortage of medicines in the ministry’s hospitals as the ministry allocated SR3.75 billion for medicines alone in 2011.

The ministry appointed 18,000 doctors and nurses last year and 4,500 doctors in the past six months. The statement added that 1,000 consultant doctors from various countries offered their services in hospitals in different parts of the Kingdom as part of a visiting doctors program.

Regarding the updating of technology the report said the ministry annually allocated SR500 million to replace old medical equipment with the most advanced devices and SR200 million was spent to modernize non-medical equipment.

The ministry bought 600 new ambulances in the past two years and 300 more will be added shortly, the report said. The total number of new ambulances will raise to 1,275 in the year.

The ministry strives to offer medical services in line with international standards. As a result, 21 hospitals have received the CBAHI (Central Board of Accreditation for Healthcare Institutions) certification. They are also striving to obtain the JCI (Joint Commission International) accreditation.

The ministry, which has launched emergency administration in all provinces, has a round-the-clock emergency management center in the ministry.

The ministry also meets the expenses of emergency patients who do not get beds in the ministry's hospitals for treatment in private hospitals. Last year, the ministry spent SR200 million for that purpose.

The statement added that 700 officials have been appointed to strengthen patient relations and remove obstacles faced by patients in getting proper hospital care.

There are also programs to monitor medical errors in order to ensure patient safety.

As part of the attempt to implement the national project for integrated comprehensive health care, the ministry strengthened its organizational system with an executive council at the ministry headquarters and subcommittees in all provincial directorates, the statement said.