Private sector vital, show reports

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GCC states will require significant investment from the private sector over healthcare.

Healthcare systems in the GCC are in great need of private investment, are largely winning the fight to improve regulatory practices, but are still struggling to modernise quickly enough, reveal a series of economic reports published by the Oxford Business Group.

In Saudi Arabia's healthcare sector, supply continues to fall behind demand, the report said. In the past five years the number of beds per 1,000 people has dropped from 2.34 to 2.23. Government studies show that there will be a demand for 70,000 hospital beds in the Kingdom, which some commentators describe as conservative. The private sector currently accounts for 22% of hospital beds and 25% of expenditure on healthcare. It is considered likely that changes in regulations will be made to encourage investment in virtually all areas of the healthcare sector.

The report commends Bahrain for establishing a healthcare sector already well advanced of many of its regional peers. Compulsory medical coverage for all expatriates is expected to be achieved in 2008, as will a move toward international accreditation for the country's hospitals.

The report observed that mandatory insurance was likely to place a burden on the sector that was beyond its capacity and further investment would be required to meet demand.

Qatar's healthcare system has come under increasing pressure due the rapid growth of its population. Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) was shown to be insufficient in coping with a steady influx of expatriates, noted the report. Qatar has followed the lead of other Gulf states and formed a body to oversee a process of decentralisation. The National Health Authority, formed in 2005, has been leading the project, having been allocated US$1.05bn for 2006-7.

The report notes that industry watchers and the general public have raised a number of concerns; namely that HMC hospitals have failed to modernise sufficiently.

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