HEALTH POLICY IN SAUDI ARABIA

Health Policy In Saudi Arabia

Health Policy In Saudi Arabia

The Ministry of Health (MOH) is the main government agency responsible for providing preventive health care, curative and rehabilitative services for the Kingdom's population. The Ministry provides primary health care (PHC) through a network of health care (including 1,925 schools) [1] in the kingdom. It also adopts the reference system which provides curative care for all members of society from the level of general practitioners in health centers to advanced technology services specializing healing through a broad base of general and specialized hospitals (220 hospitals) [2]. The Ministry of Health is considered the main government agency responsible for managing, planning, financing and regulation of the health sector. The Health Ministry is also responsible for the overall supervision and monitoring of activities related to health care conducted by the private sector. Therefore, the Ministry of Health can be viewed as a national health service (NHS) for the entire population. (Farsy, 2004)

There are also three mini-NHS to fund and provide primary, secondary and tertiary stocks listed specific security and armed forces: the Ministry of Defence and Aviation (MODA), the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the Saudi National Guard Arabia (SANG). In addition to these agencies, there are several autonomous government agencies are responsible for providing and financing health services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of Education provides the immediate primary health care to students. The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs operates the home institutions for the mentally retarded and custody of orphans. These facilities offer guests a certain amount of care. The General Organization for Social Insurance and General Presidency of Youth Welfare provide health services for certain categories of the population in relation to the management of sports facilities. The Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu provides health services for employees and residents in the two industrial cities (Jubail and Yanbu). The Saudi Arabian Airlines operates its own health facilities with the goal of providing health services to their employees. UK universities provide, through their medical schools and hospitals, specialized curative services and medical education and training programs, while also conducting research on health in collaboration with other research centers.

The Government also funds and provides care to reference level of its main specialized national tertiary care referral hospital King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center and King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital. King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center uses highly advanced technologies and act as a referral hospital for cases that require advanced and specialized treatment, while also conducting research on health issues in general and those related to the Kingdom, particular. The King Khalid Eye Specialist Hospital is designed to be a large health center that offers high quality services specializing in ophthalmology and eye surgery and medicine, as well as a regional center for research in the field of ophthalmology. The hospital also has a cornea bank in which imported corneas stored.

The Saudi Red Crescent carried out important and effective role in ...