SAUDI ARABIA: Medical tourism gathers pace in Saudi Arabia

Medical tourism is increasing in Saudi Arabia, says the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), in a recent report, Health and medical tourism achieved more than 800 million Saudi riyals out of the total spending by both citizens and expatriates for domestic tourism in 2007. At the same time, foreign tourists spent over 400 million riyals to undergo treatment in the Kingdom during the period.” The SCTA report says that there are an increasing number of hospitals, clinics and promoting medical tourism in the kingdom, mainly in Riyadh and Jeddah. Unfortunately SCTA has no figures on numbers of medical tourists or revenue for 2008 and 2009.

Jeddah’s Dr. Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DFSH), one of the leading hospitals in the region, has unveiled first-of-its-kind healthcare Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report in the Middle East. This unique sustainability report covers patient care, workplace relationships, community wellbeing and the environment.

DSFH says the report is aimed at reinforcing its commitment to sustainability and responsibility to the social environment it operates in. The DSFH report is also the first non-financial report to be developed by a hospital in the region. The report looks at steps to raise standards of patient treatment and care. Across the world, hotels and spas are increasingly promoting their environmentally friendly attitudes, as part of the global increase in eco-tourism and specially built eco-friendly hotels. As yet hospitals have ignored this trend that takes hotels away from competing on price and targeting a consumer sector that pays high prices for eco-friendly accommodation.

DSFH has implemented a series of initiatives such as cutting down on energy and water consumption, switching to eco-friendly technology and programmes aimed at cutting down on its carbon footprint. The philosophy is that sustainable businesses can cut costs, drive innovation, reduce risk and motivate employees.

Dr. Mazen Fakeeh at DSFH, said: “The hospital has always believed in practices built around the principles of honesty, responsibility and ethics. Over the last few years, we have established our mandate as a socially responsible hospital by cutting down on energy and water use, switched to digital x-rays, started recycling campaigns, and tracks our carbon emissions. Our objective is to raise the patient satisfaction rate by at least five per cent annually. These are the first steps towards a cleaner, greener future for Saudi Arabia. As part of the steps in this direction, we have fixed nearly 540 water saving installations that helped reduce our water consumption in 2008 by more than 50 per cent compared to the previous year. We also put in place a number of energy saving measures that have reduced our energy consumption by 5 per cent compared to the previous year. Our efforts are primarily aimed at embedding sustainability into every aspect of our strategy and decision-making; on patient care, workplace relationships, community wellbeing and environment.”

Dr Soliman Fakeeh Hospital (DSFH), founded in Jeddah in 1978, is a leading referral hospital. It is a regional pioneer in the field of organ-transplantation, including kidney, bone marrow, liver, and heart transplantation. Its open-heart surgery centre claims the highest number of operations done in the private sector in the kingdom with a success rate comparable to any international center of excellence.