RIYADH: In a fresh move, the Ministry of Health has started a patient-centered developmental program in crowded hospitals in the Kingdom.

Dr. Turraif Al-Amar, undersecretary to curative affairs at the ministry, said his department has selected 30 hospitals to provide better services and facilities to the increasing number of patients.

He said the ministry has signed a cooperation agreement with GE Healthcare to implement the program. During the first phase, the ministry will concentrate on the 30 hospitals in all parts of the Kingdom and subsequently the program will be extended to other crowded hospitals too.

Al-Amar said GE Healthcare will provide its own staff in these hospitals and train the local staff while applying its own methodology to improve the performance, implement the best universally accepted health practices, change management systems and provide continuous support to management teams of the hospitals to help them with the implementation of the transformation program.

Al-Amar said the health care program is aimed at improving the performance at some of the important and busiest departments in hospitals such as emergency, laboratories and out-patient.

About 90 percent of Saudi hospitals deploy GE technology. The company supports the operational needs of the Ministry of Health, one of the largest public health authorities in the Middle East, with more than 2,000 health centers across the Kingdom.

Empowering the Kingdom through Education to help meet the health care sector goals of Saudi Arabia’s Ninth Development Plan and the Ministry of Health’s ‘Patient First’ strategy, GE is partnering with the ministry to boost the health care sector competencies with a focus on training.

The development of a dedicated GE Healthcare Skills and Training Institute in partnership with King Fahd Medical City will expand the training partnership. The Institute will be the first of its kind in the Kingdom.