ShareBy Majd Othman
Mutlaq Al-SaneaKUWAIT: In the presence of a number of government officials and members of the National Assembly, the Health Assurance Hospitals Company (DHAMAN) celebrated the completion of the DHAMAN Hospital building in Jahra governorate, less than two months after the opening of Ahmadi Hospital. Chairman of DHAMAN Mutlaq Al-Sanea confirmed in a press statement that DHAMAN has completed the construction and technical system according to the bid brochure. What remains are the issuance of licenses related to medical staff and approvals for medical examinations by the ministry of health, and enabling the company to collect the prescribed fees directly.
Sanea called on the ministry of health to redouble efforts in the next period and complete the required procedures to mark the start of the company's work and sign the framework agreement stipulated in the bid brochure so that the company can receive the target population. CEO of DHAMAN Thamer Arab said DHAMAN's operation, which offers a new and advanced model in healthcare through its multiple facilities, is a step in the right direction to reduce the burden on the government's budget and give the private sector the opportunity to be an active partner with it, explaining that after DHAMAN starts receiving its target segment of the population of residents, in addition to any other society groups, it will relieve pressure on the ministry of health and thus will be reflected in the quality of health services for Kuwaiti citizens.
"We hope during the coming period, and through cooperation with the ministry of health, especially on the issue of employing specialized and advisory medical staff and others for hospitals, to complete the competencies necessary to operate all hospital departments, provide full medical services in them, and complete all licenses and procedures required to start operating and achieve the vision behind this project, which is considered the largest development plan projects and one of the most important pillars of healthcare projects," Arab said.
KUWAIT: (From lef) Dr Ziad Al-Alyan, Ahmad Al-Furaih and Thamer Arab attend the event.Khaled Al-Hassoun, Executive Director of the General Reserve Sector at Kuwait Investment Authority, said the health assurance hospitals project is one of the development plan projects, and perhaps it is unique in that it is directed towards improving the level of services of the healthcare sector, which is considered one of the most important sectors of the national economy, and very large financial resources are directed to it annually from the general budget of the state.
"The Kuwait Investment Authority has provided all possible support to the company since the start of its business by contributing to its capital and playing an important role in the work of the company's board of directors, up to the current stage, when it is about to complete its system. Kuwaiti citizens are main partners in the company's capital, as 50 percent of the company's capital amounting to 230 million dinars has been allocated to them," Hassoun said.
Faleh Al-DosariRepresentative of the Supreme Council for Planning and Development Faleh Al-Dosari said DHAMAN is one of the strategic projects within the development plan of the country and the New Kuwait 2035 vision, where it was established based on an Amiri decree as part of partnership projects between the private and public sectors (PPP). Dosari stressed that while governments, especially in the Arab Gulf region, are struggling to develop healthcare for their communities, many of them tend to invest in strategic partnerships with the private sector to improve the health sector.
"In Kuwait, we find the numbers of residents are huge relative to citizens, which prompted the Kuwaiti government to adopt advanced healthcare systems through partnership between the public and private sectors, which works to reduce and rationalize government spending in the field of healthcare, as well as improve the operation of public health services and facilities and expand access to high quality healthcare services. It also seeks to improve and raise the indicators of healthcare in Kuwait and provide job opportunities in this field," Dosari said.
Miguel AguilarAmbassador of Spain to Kuwait Miguel Aguilar expressed his admiration for the health assurance system, expecting it to achieve a qualitative leap in the health sector in Kuwait with its distinguished health model, which is applied for the first time in cooperation with the Spanish international operator Ribera Salud. "The Spanish side has the desire and close capabilities capable of enhancing cooperation in the field of health, and is working with the Kuwaiti side to explore new opportunities and inject new momentum for cooperation between the two countries, which provides greater contributions to enhancing the development of Kuwait and consolidating the relationship between the two countries," he said.
MP Abdullah Al-Anbaei called on government agencies to cooperate with the DHAMAN hospitals project and speed up the necessary procedures to start operations as soon as possible, due to the many benefits this has on public funds and the quality of health services provided to citizens and residents in Kuwait.
DHAMAN Hospital buildingAnbaei explained that the operation of DHAMAN hospitals will provide a solution to the health situation in Kuwait by easing the burden on the government health sector, which has been suffering during the recent period, noting that what is required in the coming period is the cooperation of the ministry of health with the project, which will save a lot of public funds and reduce pressure on government spending on health services, as it will begin to provide services to about 1.8 million residents.
"This requires the ministry of health to expedite the granting of the necessary licenses to mark the start of its work," he said, denouncing at the same time the absence of any representative of the ministry of health in the process of opening the hospital, despite the presence of representatives from other government authorities. "It is unacceptable to not care, pay attention or interact with this development project and disrupt it by not meeting the requirement of the necessary medical staff to start the operation process. The ministry of public works must expedite the completion of roads for the hospital," he added.
Anbaei pointed out that supporting and enabling the project is a duty in preparation for offering the company for public subscription to citizens, especially since disrupting its work is considered a waste of public funds paid for this institution.
