The Ministry of Health has approved treatment of 352 patients inside and outside the Kingdom, an official said here Wednesday.
Mishal Abdullah Al-Mishal, general director of the Medical Authorities and Medical Attaches, said that 157 patients will be treated abroad and 131 locally. Treatment for another 64 patients currently abroad would be extended, he said.
He said the patients received treatment in the United States, Germany, China, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Pakistan, Egypt and Jordan.
The United States remains the top destination for treatment followed by Germany and the United Kingdom.
The United States is to get 60 patients, followed by Germany with 40, China 26, the United Kingdom 13, France 11, two patients each for Italy, Jordan and Egypt, and one each for Pakistan and South Korea.
The Kingdom spent more than SR1 billion to treat 4,723 Saudi patients abroad last year, he said. Under the scheme, 2,781 of the patients were approved by the Supreme Medical Commission while the remaining patients were treated abroad by royal decree.
Al-Mishal said the decision to treat patients abroad is based on a royal decree or on a recommendation made by the commission, which deals with these acute cases.
The members of the commission include representatives from different government department such as Medical Services at the Ministry of Defense, Department of Health Affairs at the Ministry of National Guard, Medical Services Department at the Ministry of Interior, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, university hospitals and the Ministry of Health.
He explained that there is no ceiling for overseas medical allocations and all deserving patients are given the opportunity. He pointed out that there are 18 medical committees spread throughout the Kingdom to deal with such cases. The Kingdom has also appointed three attaches in countries such as the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Earlier, the Council of Ministers decided to allocate SR600 per day for Saudis receiving medical treatment, and those accompanying them, outside the Kingdom and SR300 per day for those being treated inside the Kingdom.
Patients, including children, referred for treatment outside the Kingdom are given financial assistance of SR300 per day.
The official said those patients considered for treatment abroad are people whose diseases cannot be treated in the Kingdom. The Saudi missions abroad have been instructed to identify the right hospitals for overseas treatment and the patients would be informed accordingly, Al-Mishal said.
He explained that the process of referring cases to be treated abroad involves studying each case objectively.
157 patients to be treated abroad
