The ratio of nurses for physicians in the government-run hospitals is double compared to the rate prevailing in private sector hospitals, that means two nurses for one physician against one in private hospitals, local media said.
Meanwhile, government hospitals added 1,959 physicians onto the list of their doctors, or an increase of 4 percent, whereas nurses grew by 5 percent, or 5,069 nurses, in 2012 compared to figures of 2011, according to the report carried by Al-Eqtisadiya daily.
The increase in the number of physicians in government hospitals came as a result of the growing number of Saudi physicians in the government medical facilities whose number increased from 14,297 in 2011 to 15,707 by the end of 2012, the report said.
However, the number of physicians and nurses in the private sector hospitals stood at 22,146 and 28,373, respectively in 2012 which are the same figures for 2011, the report said.
In 2012, on the other hand, the number of government and private sector hospitals reached 298 and 130, respectively, according to the report.
In a related development, an official source at the Ministry of Health said their plan to recruit 1,600 Filipino nurses does not contradict the job nationalization (Saudization) plan. “Recruitment of foreign cadres will not be followed unless there is a shortage in national cadres,” ministry spokesman Khalid MIrghalani told Al-Eqtisadiya daily.
When jobs cannot be filled by national cadres, the ministry normally enters into contracts with foreign countries to recruit staff in accordance with the set standards and regulations, he explained.
The ministry signs contracts with qualified manpower from Arab, Asian or European countries and the criteria of selection is centered on the availability of high qualifications to serve the sons of the soil, he pointed out.
Nurse-doctor ratio higher in govt hospitals: Report
