The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has called on the Ministry of Health to exempt expatriates seeking kidney dialysis from medical fees, describing government hospital charges of SR465 for a single dialysis session as “unacceptable.” “The ministry should treat expatriate kidney failure patients as emergency cases and provide them with medical attention free of charge,” said Talal Hussein Qisti, the head of the NSHR health and environment committee. Qisti said the number of patients seeking dialysis was on the rise and exceeding the capabilities of hospitals. “The Kingdom's financial situation should mean that no one is deprived of emergency medical treatment, and I include in that kidney dialysis,” Qisti said. “Spending needs to be increased to meet the needs of the now 9,600 persons seeking dialysis in the Kingdom, each of whom requires 110,000 riyals' worth of treatment per year.”
