The Ministry of Health plans to appoint specialist and consultant doctors to work in primary health care centers that are now served only by general practitioners, Okaz/Saudi Gazette has learnt. In the short term, specialist and consultant doctors working in central and specialist hospitals will visit health centers on certain days, according to official sources in the Ministry of Health. Lists of patients to be seen on those days will be established to ensure that the visiting doctors treat the highest possible numbers of people needing medical attention, the sources said. Sometime later, the Ministry of Health will assess the program and determine if it should be continued. The Ministry of Health is working to alleviate the suffering of many patients who visit primary health care centers near their homes instead of bearing the trouble of visiting central or specialist hospitals, which are usually far from their residences, according to the sources. The plan is also expected to reduce crowding in outpatient clinics of central and specialist hospitals in cities and governorates, the sources added. In the past years, the Ministry of Health has executed numerous projects to construct primary health care centers in cities and governorates, rather than housing them in rented buildings. Many of these projects have been handed over to the organization and several others are being carried out. __
