Manama: Kuwait Doctors’ Union has warned that endorsing the establishment of health insurance hospitals for expatriates might have a negative impact on the international medical and humanitarian image of the country.
The suggestion to set up separate hospitals for expatriates was made as a solution to the limited health services in public health facilities. Expatriates make up two thirds of the total population of Kuwaiti estimated to be at 3.3 million.
In a press statement, the union said that the stipulations of the hospital bill are not in line with the agreements Kuwait had signed with international human rights organisations. The union also argued the proposal will tarnish the reputation of Kuwait because it does not have medical, financial or humanitarian backing, Kuwaiti daily Arab Times reported.
According to the union, the deterioration of the public health sector will get worse if Kuwait encourages discrimination through the construction of hospitals for expatriates.
“It is not appropriate to push for the establishment of these hospitals under the pretext that the expatriate population in the country has increased remarkably and depleted the resources of the health ministry at the expense of the citizens,” the union said.
“We recognise the right of every Kuwaiti to the best medical care as stipulated in the Constitution, but the problem requires root-level solutions, instead of attributing it to the rising number of expatriates. This is not a plausible justification for the negligence of some ministers and lawmakers,” the union said.
The union also called on the concerned officials to carefully study the proposal to prevent huge losses, which might negatively affect the medical sector.
