Privatization of health sector ‘needed’

JEDDAH: Privatization of the country’s public health sector would improve services for the nation’s people and save costs, according to a Ministry of Health doctor.
Saleh bin Suleiman Al-Harbi, a family medicine consultant at the ministry, said there would be much more efficient use of the ministry’s property and assets, which are worth nearly SR80 billion.
In reference to Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s recent interview with The Economist about plans to privatize some sectors of economy, including health, he said this would ensure greater productivity and transparency, and eliminate wastage of medicines.
Al-Harbi said the Kingdom, like other countries, is seeing an increase in health service costs, with about 10 percent of its annual budget going to health provision, or about 5 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Government spending represents about 70 percent of total spending on health care, he said.
He said a recommendation at a recent health economics conference has called for the better spending of resources on health care. This was now a requirement for all ministries, he said.
Critical steps include employing skilled people and better management of resources, all of which would reduce costs, save time and effort, and improve quality of outputs, said Al-Harbi.
It was also necessary to control wastage at health centers and hospitals, ensure optimal use of available resources, achieve a balance between inputs and outputs, and better technical development of facilities. This can be achieved through privatization, which would result in investments in the sector.