Newly appointed Health Minister Mohammed Alhayazie introduced 115 new ambulances for the country’s home health care services here on Thursday.

With the latest additions, the Health Ministry would now have 374 ambulances for this program, said Nasir Al-Khuzaim, supervisor general of the ministry’s home service.

Since the introduction of the program in 2010, ministry officials have made over 1 million home visits to 45,000 patients. A total of 192 hospitals countrywide offer this service, he said.

The minister also announced that he would soon have a Twitter account so that he can interact with the public. “It will be an open channel to communicate with all segments of society, in particular patients, their families and other beneficiaries. Their feedback is very important to us so that we can make improvements,” he said.

Since assuming the post on Tuesday, Alhayazie said he has been in contact with top ministry officials by telephone, in meetings and teleconferencing. One of his goals is to ensure that the ministry operates as a team to improve services, to realize the aspirations and vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah.

On Sunday, Alhayazie will meet here with directors general at the headquarters of the ministry to discuss the current state of health care services in the country, including obstacles and possible solutions.

Alhayazie was one of nine new ministers appointed by King Abdullah in a major Cabinet reshuffle on Monday. He takes over the post left vacant by Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. Labor Minister Adel Fakeih had acted in the position for a short period.