JEDDAH: Some of the primary health care centers should ease the burden on government hospitals, but the opposite is happening and they are draining the government exchequer, an expert was quoted as saying by local media on Wednesday.

Dr. Mahmoud Abdulrahman Mahmoud, dean of the College of Medicine and head of the Public Health Department at Imam Mohammed bin Saud University, said primary care centers are considered the basis in all advanced health systems, and thus should be allocated the largest portion of the health budget in order to operate efficiently.

He said primary health care covers 70 to 80 percent of basic health services, including preventative programs, early disease detection and treatment to reduce the severity of chronic diseases.

“As for the role of primary health care in the mental health field in the Kingdom, he said this role is almost absent, despite the fact that early detection of mental disorders should be done at these centers. Qualified staff at these centers can deal with most of these disorders in early stages to avoid cost of treatment and prevent the stigma surrounding mental illness,” Mahmoud said.