Nearly 6,000 specialists from foreign countries treating patients

The intake of foreign medical consultants increased by 77 percent to close to 6,000 in Saudi Arabia in the year 2014, the Ministry of Health (MoH) announced on Monday. Dr. Abdulla Al-Waadi, supervisor of the Visiting Doctors’ Program, said that during this period, the MoH recruited 1,820 doctors from various countries for various health facilities in the Kingdom. The program is aimed at alleviating the sufferings of patients with intricate diseases and shortening the waiting period in remote areas. The are 5,668 doctors under the program now, which was started five years ago, he said, adding that these consultants are from rare specialities. “In 2011, there were only 417 foreign consultants.” Al-Waadi said the MoH has signed several agreements with universities, colleges and medical centers from friendly countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Cuba and Pakistan to support the program with many medical practitioners and consultants from various disciplines. He said that more than 65 percent of the medical needs of the people in the Kingdom are met by the MoH. The presence of specialized doctors in remote areas helps patients in save time as they are no more forced to go to towns for treatment. These foreign consultants work also hand in hand with local doctors and exchange ideas in the fields of specialization, Al-Waadi said. These doctors are also engaged in training programs that help the other doctors to keep abreast of the advances in the medical field, he added. -arabnews