Saudi to privatise health service

MASSIVE OVERHAUL: Saudi Arabia plans to privatise large parts of its healthcare sector. (Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia is to privatise large parts of its healthcare sector in a bid to meet demand and raise the standard of treatment, a senior government official has said.

Dr Manar Al-Moneef, director general of healthcare and life sciences at the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), said there are plans to privatise or outsource the management of 218 government-owned hospitals, the UK's Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Al-Moneef also said another 2,000 planned hospitals and clinics are to be put under the administration of a fund overseen by the health ministry. He said these would also be either privatised or their management outsourced.

He said the government was planning "a massive overhaul with many opportunities to build a leading competitive sector".

Al-Moneef said the government currently finances three-quarters of the healthcare sector, which he described as “unsustainable" given population growth and spiralling healthcare costs.

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READERS' COMMENTS

privatize healthcare in KSA
Posted by Leigh Vernier, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday 2 October 2008 at 15:26 UAE time


The UK National health Service, once thought of as an inspired 'socialist' initiative has since proved to be a millstone round every government's neck.
In any one year's NHS budget some 2 billion pounds is 'lost' - cannot be accounted for.
Worse, it has been proven that any NHS model will always demand slightly more money than it currently consumes. Consumption always expands to eat up extra healthcare.
Now, even UK's socialist party is arguing for a hybrid service with private sectors.
A private system however, needs a carefully legislated safety net for those in the community who cannot pay but have a healthcare need.
There must be a moral-ethical dimension.

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