Oman plans to open more hospitals to cope with demand

Muscat: Oman's Health Minister, Dr Ali Bin Mohammad Bin Mousa, told 84 elected Shura members that the country's health services were under pressure and the ministry plans to open more hospitals to cope with it.

Responding to the query by a member during his interaction with the Majlis Ashura members earlier this week, the health minister agreed that there was a long waiting for period for patients in some cases. "The waiting problem is a reality because the health centres and clinics have to deal with more than 3,000 cases a day," he told the elected house. He added that some of the treatments were available only at a few centres.

"We have only one centre — the cardiology centre in Royal Hospital [in Muscat] — for open heart surgery," he said in reference to the long waiting list for cardiology cases.

He revealed that the ministry has decided to set up another Royal Hospital. "We hope to complete work on the new Royal Hospital within two years," he said. Moreover, he added, the cardiology department at the Sultan Qaboos Hospital in Salalah will also be set up. Responding to a query on extending timings of the local health centre clinics, the minister said the health clinics were providing only primary health services. "There is no need to extend their (health centres) timings because there are other hospitals to deal with emergency situations," the minister said.