DAMMAM — The Central Department of Statistics report on health sector for 2015 showed that 91 percent of jobs in private hospitals are held by non-Saudi healthcare professionals. In state-run hospitals, non-Saudis hold 40.6 percent of jobs, Al-Watan daily reported. There are around 254,847 expats working in private hospitals as healthcare professionals and most of them are recruited from Asian countries, which means that the percentage of jobs held by Saudis in private hospitals is nine percent, according to the report. It was indicated that expatriate workers continue to control the healthcare sector in the private sector because the majority of hospitals prefer to hire non-Saudis over Saudis. In private hospitals, only 2.9 percent of doctors are Saudis while in the public sectors 29 percent of doctors are Saudi. The report noted that Saudis working in private hospitals usually hold ‘assistant' positions, mostly technicians. Moreover, only 15 percent of pharmacists in private hospitals are Saudi whereas expats account for the remaining percentage. The total number of Saudi healthcare professionals in the private sector is 8,835 while that of expats reaches 99,600. In governmental hospitals, 70 percent of doctors, including consultants and specialists, are non-Saudi. The percentages of Saudi nurses and pharmacists in these hospitals are 3.52 percent and 7.89 percent respectively, the report said. It concluded that government hospitals have succeeded in Saudizing 60 percent of jobs and hire only 40 percent of non-Saudi to fill certain positions.
