Challenges Facing the Healthcare System of Saudi Arabia

Running head: HEALTH CARE CHALLENGES 1
Health Care Challenges in Saudi Arabia
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HEALTH CARE CHALLENGES 2
Challenges facing the healthcare system of Saudi Arabia
The health care system of Saudi Arabia is continuously faced by challenges that can be
resolved. The challenges include; inadequate health professionals, accessibility to health services
and insufficient funding.
Inadequate health professionals
The health care system of Saudi Arabia is experiencing shortage of local professionals
such as nurses, physicians and pharmacists. Majority of health professionals are emigrants
leading to unsteadiness in the labor force and high percentage of turnover. The inability of the
government to train and retain health professionals is the major cause of the shortage. The
government should consider establishing more medical schools to teach and train for health
professional occupations. Efforts to train local health professions will help in substituting the
large expatriate labor force with skilled local Saudi Arabians inhabitants in the health sector (Al-
Asfour & Khan, 2014). This will enhance stability in the workforce and also increase the
availability of qualified manpower in the health sector.
Accessibility to health services
The existing Ministry of Health (MOH) statistics clearly display that there is unequal
distribution of health professionals and health care facilities across geographical regions. People
suffer a lot due to long waiting queues in order to access health facilities and services. The
disadvantaged, elderly and people with special needs lack access to health services especially
those living in rural areas. People who live in remote areas and along borders also do not have
the capacity to access health care services. The government needs to administer strategies that