RIYADH: Shoura Council members have urged Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih to provide a detailed report on shortcomings in the ministry, rather than just list its achievements.

Abdullah Al-Fifi, a Shoura member, was quoted as saying by a local publication recently that all issues, failures and achievements, must be provided in print in preparation for their session with the minister next Tuesday. This would allow members to read details of what the ministry has been doing before the meeting, Al-Fifi said in a statement quoted by the publication.

“The Ministry of Health has a history of failures including the shortcomings in medical insurance provision, insufficient and poor services, and poor safety and security measures considering what happened at hospitals in Jazan and elsewhere in the Kingdom,” he said.

He added that no one can deny the difficulties and the challenges facing the ministry in terms of the rising cost of medical care and the increasing demand on health care services, he was quoted as saying.

There were also limited human resources, lack of qualified staff and the lack of government land to complete health centers. “But the odd thing is that the ministry did not mention all this in its report and the decisions taken in this regard during the previous sessions of the council,” he said.

Another member, Fahd bin Jumaa, said the minister must outline what he is going to do in terms of medical insurance and privation and how this would impact on service provision for citizens. “A time schedule should be put in place immediately to accelerate the implementation of such projects,” he said.

He said that if these two issues were handled correctly they would reduce government costs. There would be more private hospitals built, which would increase investment opportunities and will boost competition. He argued that medical insurance provision for Saudis in the private sector would see thousands of citizens employed.