The tendency either to cross over to the private sector or find work as administrative officials under the Ministry of Health itself has become a trend in the Kingdom, Al-Riyadh daily quoted the officials as saying.

Muhammad Al-Turki, an administrative official with the MOH, noted that a doctor normally may not incur any monetary loss if he switches over to an administrative position.

“However, this deprives the health care system of the services of an efficient doctor. Also, this doctor may not be a success in the administrative field. Such a scenario would produce a negative impact on the functioning of hospitals and primary health centers,” he said, while also noting that new doctors who replace such specialists may not be as efficient and experienced.

“This would result in eroding public confidence in government hospitals and health centers,” he pointed out.

Abdul Rahman Al-Suleiman, director of a medical center, said that moving into the private sector would result in shrinking numbers of Saudi doctors working in the government sector, especially in smaller cities and regions across the Kingdom.

“The government spends huge amount of money for the education and training of its medical cadets. When the Kingdom expects to reap fruits from these doctors, they either switch over to the administrative field or cross over to the private sector. Moreover, the government has to spend a huge amount of money to hire foreign medical staff in the absence of qualified Saudi doctors,” he said.

On his part, Mishaal Al-Hussein, a medical specialist, urged the ministry to link the payment of Saudi doctors’ salaries with the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Civil Affairs to discourage them from crossing over to the private sector in pursuit of higher incentives.

“There should be a serious initiative to satisfy the Health Ministry's doctors by narrowing the disparity between the public and private sectors with regard to salary and allowances. The ministry needs to be more competitive to attract efficient Saudi specialist doctors to the public sector with attractive salary and allowances,” he said.

Al-Hussein said factors driving doctors away from the public sector include inefficient management, an unsatisfactory work environment and unwillingness to work at hospitals and health centers far away from their homes.

However, noted leukemia consultant at King Fahd Specialist Hospital and Research Center Dr. Mazen bin Fuad Al-Khayyat, who is also a member of the Shoura Council, denied reports that doctors in the government sector were moving into the private sector.

“Unlike the private sector, statistical reports show that the number of Saudi doctors in the government sector is on the rise with the passing of every year. It is true that the percentage of Saudi doctors in the government sector is not high. There has been a huge demand for more qualified Saudi doctors to fill the vast number of vacancies generated following the establishment of more medical cities, medical colleges as well as hospitals and health centers across the Kingdom,” he said, while adding that there is also great scope for Saudi doctors in the private sector, which is also witnessing a boom.

Al-Khayyat also strongly argued for allowing Saudi government doctors to work for private practices during their free time.

Dr. Saleh bin Muhammad Al-Mahfouz, a consultant dermatologist, attributed Saudi doctors opting out of the government sector to some regulations enforced by the ministry.

“The ministry is not allowing Saudi doctors to practice privately even after they finish their duty time. However, foreign doctors working with the government sector are free to do so. The ministry regulations also allow Saudi doctors to open a private clinic only after their retirement from service,” he said, while stressing the need for reviewing these unfair regulations to serve the interests of Saudi doctors.