JEDDAH — The National Guard is currently studying the viability of opening the services and facilities of National Guard hospitals to civilians, including expatriates, said a senior hospital official.

Dr. Fahd Abdul Jabbar, executive director general of health affairs in the National Guard, said the government hospitals have already started implementing a scheme, with the Council of Minister’s approval, to allow consultant doctors in government hospitals to continue their work after their normal working hours.

In such cases, the doctors, who will charge a fee from patients for the additional service, have to share their additional income with the hospital. The doctor should be a Saudi specialist in any branch of medicine and should get the permission of the hospital authorities. The scheme aims at creating an atmosphere of positive competition between the private and government health sectors, Abdul Jabbar said.

The government has set up a special committee, headed by the planning minister and with representatives of the private and public sectors as members, to study the Kingdom’s future health strategy.

The committee’s main task is to set out the plans and programs for meeting people’s increased demand for medical services against the backdrop of the government’s fundamental principles of providing free medical services and education to all citizens.

Abdul Jabbar is upbeat about the committee’s capability to make positive proposals that will meet the country’s medical requirements in the years ahead. He also revealed the government’s plan to open centers of advanced medical care in several places. He pointed out that steps are being taken to start a children’s hospital at the King Abdul Aziz Medical Center, while the 280-bed King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Ahsa and the 100-bed King Abdul Aziz Hospital in Dammam will be commissioned next year.