Saudi GazetteNitaqat scare 11,000 polyclinics and medical centers in Saudi Arabia 220,000 employees, 90% of them non-Saudis, work in polyclinics Zero to five percent Saudization at most small and medium-category polyclinics Health care providers have to achieve a minimum of 25 to 30 percent Saudization RIYADH/DAMMAM – At least 10 percent of polyclinics solely run and managed by foreign nationals face closure because they are finding it difficult to achieve the required percentage of Saudization under the Nitaqat system, according to sources. Medical dispensaries and private medical clinics are mostly in Nitaqat's red zone. They need to implement the Nitaqat requirement if they wish to continue in business, an official of the Ministry of Labor in Dammam said. “Most of these health establishments are managed and run by expatriates, although they are owned by Saudis. Ninety percent of the staff in polyclinics are non-Saudis,” the labor official told the Saudi Gazette. There are about 11,000 small, medium and large polyclinics in Saudi Arabia, employing 220,000 medical and para-medical staff. According to sources, health care providers have to achieve a minimum of 25 to 30 percent Saudization. Polyclinics and dispensaries in the yellow zone will be given a nine-month grace period and those in the red zone have six months to improve their status by hiring more Saudis. At present, there is zero to five percent Saudization at most small and medium-category polyclinics. “Recruitment of trained Saudi staff has been a challenge for us,” said a manager of a polyclinic in Riyadh. The medical director of a polyclinic in Ibn Khaldoun in Dammam told the Saudi Gazette that they are finding it difficult to follow the Nitaqat rule. “It would be very expensive to hire Saudi nurses or medical workers. Our nurses from India and the Philippines are paid much less than those working in public hospitals.” He said another issue is the unwillingness of Saudi medical graduates to work in polyclinics and small dispensaries. “All the young Saudis who finish diploma or bachelor degree courses in medical health prefer to work in government health institutions,” he said. Nasir Asiri, a Saudi Administration Manager at a polyclinic, said two Saudis whom he recently recruited quit to work with the government sector. Occupations reserved for Saudis at polyclinics and other health care providers include front desk jobs, such as receptionists, record keepers, and medical record keepers and in the technical field, x
