Amid an expected exponential growth in demand in health care services in Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom's private sector is forecast to spend $20 billion by 2016 on new medical facilities and services, Dr. Mazen Fakeeh, director-general of Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DSFH) said on Monday at a function to celebrate the 30th year of the hospital founding. With 110 private hospitals offering 10,113 beds or 20.6 percent of all beds in Saudi Arabia, more investment in the private medical sector is needed to counterbalance the effects of financial downturns, he noted. He said DSFH alone will invest SR500 million in the next three years for its several projects in the Western Region, among them are the establishment of the “state-of-the-art” Fakeeh Medical Center by 2010 and two satellite hospitals – one in the “extreme north and the other in the extreme south” of the region, he added. Dr. Mazen also disclosed the long-range plan of the hospital on the establishment of a Joint University College, saying that DSFH is currently in discussion with Harvard University Medical School on possible tie-up on education and services. He said DSFH sees a strong demand for the setting up of advanced medical facilities and enhanced services in the Kingdom as the population grows coupled with the mandatory personal health insurance. There is an unparalleled rise in demand for health care in the Kingdom, he added. Industry experts said the demand for hospital beds is set to double by 2025 and the Gulf countries are rushing to meet the unprecedented challenge with a near $10 billion hospital building program. Regional governments have been encouraging international institutions to set up health care facilities in the region but many more providers will be required to meet the huge future demand, Three major factors drive the upsurge in health care demand in the region, namely population growth, an aging population and unique health risks. Consultants MsCkinsey & Co. forecast earlier that the total health care spending in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries will each $60 billion by 2025. “No other region in the world faces such rapid growth in demand,” it said, predicting that some 162,000 more hospital beds will be needed, with the biggest increases notably in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. “Total GCC population by 2025 is expected to be twice of what is today. In addition, improvements in life expectancy mean more elderly people requiring care. A sevenfold increase in forecast in those over 65 in Saudi Arabia during the next 25 years. The region also has major and growing health risk factor with the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes and obesity at unusually high levels relative to the rest of the world. Citing the achievements of DSFH in the last 30 years, Dr. Mazen said the hospital has been an industry trendsetter and remains the leader, recording several firsts, like the only private hospital accredited to perform organ transplantations. DSFH received national distinction with an award to recognize the hospital's CSR commitment during the years, being the eighth out of 40 nation-wide organizations to be awarded on the Saudi Responsible Competitiveness Index with the set up of its Community Advisory Committee to increase community based health-care services. The award was organized by SAGIA in cooperation with King Khalid Benevolent Foundation and Harvard University in 2008. The award recognized the hospitals' commitment to quality health care, community outreach in urban and rural areas, awareness programs, Saudization and women's participatory programs. During DSFH's last 30 years, the hospital's bed capacity had increased six times over this period to reach 600 this year, and the establishment of Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Nursing College whose aims is to Saudize the nursing profession. He stressed the hospital's role in the discovery of new diseases in the Middle East as declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) such as the dengue fever and its fly carrier, the flavivirus as reported by the US Center for Disease Control (CDC) that prevented a widespread epidemic. In the ceremony, 28 hospital staff were given awards for their more than 25 years of dedicated service. __
