JEDDAH: The General Directorate of Health Affairs has completed preparations to serve Haj pilgrims in Makkah, the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, and Jeddah.
“The Ajyad Emergency Hospital close to the Grand Mosque has been refurbished with 52 beds spread over an area of 3,000 square meters,” said Khaled bin Obaid Zafar, director general of Health Affairs in Makkah province.
While its emergency ward contains 10 beds for men and seven for women, eight have been set apart for observation, eight for coronary care, two for revival of hearts and lungs, and 12 for intensive care, said Zafar.
He added that the hospital’s isolation ward has five beds. The hospital is also equipped with advanced machinery in its laboratory and scanning and X-ray departments.
The hospital also houses a pharmacy and separate sections for medical records, dieting, and social and patient relations.
The directorate has also added a single-day surgery department with 20 beds and operation theaters, Zafar said.
“The King Faisal Hospital has been refurbished and is double its previous capacity. It also has the latest facilities in its laboratory, blood bank, and tissue and tuberculosis departments. The operation theater has also been renovated. The emergency ward has 29 beds with separate sections for men and women,” he said.
Ibn Sina Hospital was expanded and now has additional space for 100 beds. Two new health centers have also been added in the holy city bringing the total number to six, Zafar said.
The Mina Valley Hospital has been reconstructed according to modern specifications with 194 beds — 25 of these are for intensive care, 25 for sunstroke patients and 24 for observation. The hospital also has two operation theaters.
“The Mina Bridge Hospital has been totally renovated and now has a capacity for 140 beds, four operation theaters equipped with the latest medical apparatus, 28 beds for intensive care and outpatient clinics,” Zafar said.
“The New Mina Street Hospital has 50 beds while the clinics which used to function in tents have been shifted to the new building. The Al-Jamrat Bridge has 20 health centers,” he added.
The director added that special stress was being placed on preventive medicine. “Twenty-five beds in the 100-bed King Saud Hospital in Jeddah have been earmarked for intensive care in preventive health services for pilgrims arriving at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah,” he said.
