Jeddah hospital beds to increase by over 1,000

Three new hospitals are set to open in Saudi Arabia in the next year in a bid to tackle long waiting lists and overcrowding, officials have said.

Sami Badawoud, the head of Health Affairs in Jeddah, said the new healthcare facilities would provide an extra 1,050 beds, one in the north of the city with 500 beds, a second in the east with 300, and the third being the Medical Tower Hospital housing 250 beds.

In comments published by Saudi Gazette on Sunday, Badawoud said that a new home healthcare programme had also begun, as well as a one-day operations scheme in which patients are discharged from the facility the same day as they undergo surgery.

Last month, Arabian Business highlighted a new report that said the high prevalance of lifestyle diseases in Saudi Arabia was likely to drive annual growth in the kingdom's healthcare market by up to 12 percent over the next three years.

Illnesses such as obesity and diabetes, which are rife in Saudi Arabia, are likely to boost spending in the country's healthcare sector and is set to outpace growth in other countries in the Middle East region, India-based research house RNCOS added.

Analysts predict that the pharmaceutical market and medical device market in Saudi Arabia will grow at annual rate of around 12 percent and 7 percent respectively.

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