JEDDAH, 18 May 2007 — Jeddah will have a full-fledged hospital within eight months if the plan of an Indian hospital group bears fruit.
“The plan is ready for a 50- to 75-bed hospital and we are in the process of looking for a building in North Jeddah that would be leased for the project,” Dr. M.I. Sahadulla, chairman and managing director of India-based Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS) told a press conference yesterday. This will be KIMS’ fourth hospital in the Gulf after Bahrain, Muscat and Jubail.
Sahadulla, who was accompanied by M.A. Mohamed, an ENT surgeon and director of the project management team, and Dr. M.S. Karimuddin, a pediatric consultant, said two Saudi families, one of them with medical background in Riyadh, had expressed their desire to join the project. “We want to give top priority to the Saudization plan and will have local people trained and employed at various levels,” he said.
The proposed hospital, which will be expanded in the course of time, will have the required facilities prerequisite for a quality health care center. “We want to meet the health care needs of middle and upper class citizens and expats, and our efforts will be to find a place among major hospitals and polyclinics,” Sahadulla said.
The SR25 million project is being implemented through Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), he said, adding that the investment is being raised both from the KIMS, which is based in Thiruvananthapuram in the southern Indian state of Kerala, and contributions from the community, who will be the shareholders.
The proposed hospital will have all major specialties including emergency wards, outpatient departments with 10 specialties, physiotherapy, emergency medical department and day care center. The medical complex will be attached to a pharmacy, optical, hearing and speech therapy centers.
It will have all the modern diagnostic facilities including a full-fledged laboratory, ultrasound scan, X-ray, fluoroscopy, CT scan and a modern medical information system.
The first hospital in the GCC was set up in Bahrain, which has turned out to be a “very successful venture” and the investors have recovered their capital within three years, he said.
Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences (KIMS), established in 2002, is a 450-bed world class, multispecialty and tertiary care hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. Situated on a 6-acre plot with a built-up area of 3,25,000 sq. ft., KIMS provides the ideal environment for healing.
“KIMS offers services in 39 departments, combining the best aspects of health care — consultants of international repute, dedicated and compassionate nursing care, accurate diagnostic facilities, state-of-the-art equipment incorporating latest technology and skill, and excellent support staff,” he said.
“KIMS has invested immensely in the area of quality and safe patient care. KIMS is accredited by the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International and by National Board for Accreditation of Hospitals. KIMS is also ISO certified by British Institute for Standardization since 2003,” Sahadulla said.
KIMS is a center for many postgraduate and paramedical academic programs. The Ronald Regan Institute of Emergency Medicine under the George Washington University Medical Center, Washington DC, is starting a two-year fellowship for their post graduate medicine courses.
“KIMS is a pioneer in promoting medical travel and received an award from the Kerala state government for being the maximum foreign exchange earner in the year 2005. With national and international accreditation, KIMS will overcome the apprehensions of medical tourists on the issues of safe health care,” Sahadulla said.
