‘Expat employees retained to maintain quality of health in Oman’

Muscat: Non-Omani employees with expertise have been retained in order to maintain the quality of health services, the Minister of Health (MoH) has said.
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Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Obaid Al Sa’eedi, minister of health, stressed the need for the health sector to raise the level of health financing to meet the expectations of Omani citizens.
He explained that the sector has had trouble with issues of hiring. According to the current system in place, the appointment of graduates is on a backup budget because of the lack of vacant positions with those specific grade levels.
“The current system no longer meets health service needs because it requires the termination of expat doctors and technicians with expertise, in favour of Omani employees. As health services are growing in parallel with population growth, the Ministry is forced to retain non-Omani employees and to attract many international experts to maintain the quality of the health services,” Al Sa’eedi said. According to the minister, there is also a need to develop health institutions with modern systems and technologies, and to provide medicines and treatments of high quality in order to have a sector, which meets international standards.
Oil prices
“Over the past few years, with economic changes and fluctuations in oil prices that may negatively affect health spending, we have to plan how to maintain the quality of health services provided to society and keep them up to date globally in light of the current financial crisis,” he said in an interview.
He pointed to the Sultanate’s remarkable achievements in the field of health development in the past decades, including the speed of reductions in mortality and child mortality, and especially in controlling communicable diseases.
Al Sa’eedi also noted the significant developments in the infrastructure of the primary health care institutions in the Sultanate, as well as the number of establishments, which reached more than 241 last year.
Medical City
He added that the completion of the construction of the Medical City by 2021 will ensure the continuation of the efficiency of Level III health services, and make them accessible to most people in Oman.
“The Medical City will also facilitate training and education for health care professionals, which will reduce the cost of training outside the country and will help achieve self-education. This will result in high levels of training and continuing education for health care professionals, in addition to strengthening clinical research in priority areas at the national level,” he said.