Some hospitals have 100 percent Saudi nursing staff

Many public hospitals in Jeddah now have Saudis making up 100 percent of their nursing staff, a doctor said here Wednesday.
Ahmed Jaber Al-Harbi, director of the Ministry of Health’s maternity and children's hospital in Aziziah, said his facility has 80 percent Saudi nurses, and hopes to have a full complement soon.
Al-Harbi said many other hospitals have 100 percent Saudi nursing staff.
He was speaking at an event to celebrate the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) annual Nursing Day.
“The GCC Nursing Day gives us an opportunity to recognize our nurses and the important contributions they are making to deliver excellent care and improve the health of our patients.”
He praised Saudi women for taking up the profession and serving patients in a professional manner.
Al-Harbi said the Health Ministry was making every effort to enhance the performance of Saudi nurses including providing periodic training.
He said nurses are as important as doctors at hospitals, and are getting the respect they deserve in the workplace. However, more needs to be done to ensure they are widely accepted, because many Saudis still consider the profession to be taboo.
Al-Harbi said nursing training institutions in the Kingdom must ensure that they keep up to date with the latest technical and scientific developments.
He said the Health Ministry is replacing expatriates with Saudi nurses.