JEDDAH – The number of beds in the Kingdom's hospitals will rise from 40,000 to 73,000 in five years, Deputy Minister of Health for Planning and Development Dr. Muhammad Al-Khushaim said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency on Saturday.
This is besides 20 diabetes centers, 20 dental centers, 20 central laboratories in addition to the Medical Shariah Center and toxins center.
After five years there will be a heart and tumor center in every governorate, he said.
Al-Khushaim said it is among the priorities of the ministry to upgrade the standard of health services by giving employees suitable training. There are 1,500 scholarship students and 3,000 male and female doctors in the internal scholarship program.
Al-Khushaim made these announcements while inaugurating an international conference of the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) here on Saturday with the participation of specialist doctors. The conference is being organized by King Abdullah Medical City.
Dr. Al-Khushaim said the preparations for the Haj season started quite early. There will be 22,000 doctors and nurses in the holy sites and in Makkah. The ministry has taken all precautions against diseases in Haj and focused on the Kingdom's 16 entry points, especially King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah and Prince Muhammad Bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah, which are the main entry points for pilgrims.
He said the pilgrims are screened and their vaccination certificates verified. There are 50 isolation beds in Arafat Hospital.
Dr. Al-Khushaim said that last year over 1,500 catheterization operations were conducted and 37 open heart surgeries were performed.
Allocations for health and social affairs spending grew by 8 percent year-on-year to reach $28.8 billion (SR108 billion) in the 2014 budget. As a result, 34 new hospitals and healthcare centers will be built, in addition to continuing work at 132 hospitals and five medical cities currently under construction.
