Participants at the first preparatory meeting for the 8th National Dialogue entitled “Health Services – Dialogue Between Society and Health Institutions” launched a stinging attack on the health sector in the Kingdom. During the meeting, held in Al-Kharj on Tuesday, they criticized the health sector for the lack of a clear health policy to address the quality of services. Government representatives at the dialogue attributed substandard medical services to the lack of competent medical centers and the severe shortage in staff, in addition to a dependence on rented premises. Unattractive salaries for health ministry doctors only served to exacerbate the issue, they said. Most participants blamed the Ministry of Health for the deteriorating health service. “The ministry has been talking about a strategic plan for more than ten years, but still nothing has materialized,” one participant said. Primary, secondary and specialist health centers also came in for criticism, along with the lack of coordination between the ministry and relevant authorities. “The great pressure on hospitals has affected the standard and quality of services,” a participant said. All 70 participants in the dialogue were unanimous in their wish to see an increase in quality and quantity. Among other issues, they highlighted the importance of care for children and teenagers, and called for the establishment of health centers functioning under the ministry for child and women's protection, and a plan for cooperation with the relevant ministries. Women, they said, needed to be recruited for security positions to document violence committed against women, and encouraged to enroll in health and medical institutions. The dialogue participants accused the Ministry of Health of failing to maintain fairness in offering primary health services and asked the ministry to enforce the principle of “health for all”. They described nursing care in the Kingdom as “inferior”, a state of affairs which they blamed on the fact that 97 percent of the Saudi nursing workforce consists of nursing technicians. The dialogue session called for the creation of hospital centers using the Holy Qur'an in the treatment of chronic diseases and afflictions such as cancer and strokes. Most participants said they were dissatisfied with hospital specialist medical staff, despite generous state allocations for the government sector. They recommended further training for staff and the privatization of the public health sector.
