Ashwaq Al-Tuwaiqi Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — Fifteen hospitals with a combined capacity of 3,886 beds will provide pilgrims with services this year, according to Dr. Hussein Ghanam, Deputy Director of Makkah Health Affairs. Eight hospitals will be working round-the-clock in the holy sites: These are: Arafat General Hospital, Sharq Arafat Hospital, Nimrah Hospital, Jabal Al-Rahma Hospital, Mina Emergency Hospital, Mina Al-Jisr Hospital, Mina Al-Wadi Hospital, and Mina Al-Shareh Al-Jadeed Hospital. In Makkah, seven hospitals will be operational this Haj season. They are King Abdul Aziz Hospital, King Faisal Hospital, Ajyad General Hospital, Maternity and Children's Hospital, Al-Noor Specialist Hospital, Hera General Hospital and Ibn Sina Hospital. These hospitals have specialist clinics, emergency units, hospitalization wards, Intensive Care Units and operation theaters. In addition to the hospitals, 175 primary healthcare centers will be offering their services to pilgrims. In Makkah, 75 healthcare centers will be operational while in Arafat 46 will be open. In Mina, there will be 44 healthcare centers, six in Muzdalifah and five inside the Grand Mosque. The five healthcare centers inside the Grand Mosque are located at Ajyad Ground Gate, Ajyad Top Gate, King Fahad Gate at the new expansion, Al-Umrah Gate at the new expansion and Othman Gate on the second floor. In addition, healthcare centers have been earmarked to provide services to pilgrims. Thirteen hospitals with a combined capacity of 2,230 beds in addition to medical preventive centers at King Abdul Aziz International Airport and Jeddah Islamic Port will be in operation. In Taif, 11 hospitals with a total capacity of 1,820 beds will be offering medical services to pilgrims. These services come in line with the comprehensive plan prepared by Makkah Health Affairs Directorate to serve pilgrims, said Dr. Ghanam. “We started preparing for Haj earlier this year and mobilized all our human resources to provide exquisite medical healthcare services to pilgrims.” The plan focused on applying health requirements for pilgrims arriving in the Kingdom through land, air and sea entry ports from countries which have epidemic diseases, Dr. Ghanam noted. The plan meets global healthcare standards, he added.
