JEDDAH, 2 December 2002 — Health Minister Dr. Osama Shubokshi said here yesterday that there are 1,238 HIV carriers in the Kingdom, 75 percent of them expatriates.
Dr. Shubokshi discussed several health related issues while attending a function organized here on Saturday by Mohammed Saeed Tayyeb, a prominent legal expert.
The minister said the dreaded disease was contracted mainly through sexual contact while a small percentage was transmitted through blood transfusion. The ministry is also making all possible efforts to contain the spread of the disease, he added.
He said fatal infectious diseases of Hepatitis B and C were not commonly found in the Kingdom.
He also stressed the need for pre-marital medical investigation as some genetic diseases found in the Eastern Province, Jizan and Najran were attributed to marriages between close relatives.
Dr. Shubokshi also disclosed the MoH’s plan to open an 800-bed hospital in north Jeddah to treat mental patients and drug addicts.
The MoH has noticed that some private hospitals are demanding very high fees for their services, he said. A medical committee is currently studying the issue as there is no effective system to monitor hospital tariffs.
He said the ministry’s decision to unify hospital fees will be implemented in a manner that will not harm the interests of the hospitals and customers.
The plan to introduce a uniform fees pattern for medical services is strongly resented by private investors in the medical sector. They have submitted a memorandum to the health minister pointing out the negative aspects of such a scheme.
The investors also fear that a unified fees system will lead to a fall in the quality of service and unhealthy competition.
They said hospital tariffs were steady in the Kingdom in the past five years while the quality of service rose. They attributed the high fees in some hospitals to non-essential tests rather than any rise in basic treatment costs.
