Many public hospitals in Makkah providing care for category one and two patients need to upgrade their emergency services, a doctor in the city said.

Dr. Safwan Zaatri, executive director for clinical medicine at King Abdullah Medical City (KAMC), said this does not apply to his hospital but other public hospitals in the city. He said services are deteriorating at many of these hospitals.

Zaatri said the KAMC deals only with category three patients.

Category one patients are those who need surgery within 30 days. Category two patients require surgery within 90 days and category three patients need surgery within 365 days. Zaatri made the comments at a press conference to announce the launch of a major neurological medical center in four months.

Zaatri said the medical city is trying to build relations with the community and patients and change the stereotypical image of health services in the area.

Yasin Malawi, general director of the KAMC, said the hospital provides top quality care for patients in the city.

Major achievements in the first nine months of 2013 include cardiology treatment, tumor biopsies, caring for chronic diseases and palliative care. A total of 8,788 patients were admitted to the hospital and over 80,000 received outpatient services.

Malawi said hospital staff performed 1,860 internal bypasses, 236 open-heart operations, and admitted 1,202 new cancer cases. He said over 104 people received training in various medical specialties. The research administration conducted 35 medical studies, three of which were published in international medical magazines.

Malawi said the hospital expanded by 52,925 square meters to include a new heart care and tumor service center in Jeddah. “All these achievements have been realized with the help of first class clinical, medical, engineering and administrative staff."

Malawi said the city would continue to provide the best services to citizens and guests of God from various parts of the Islamic world.