Bahrainis to Replace Expats in Government Hospitals

TDT | Manama
Email : editor@newsofbahrain.com

The Ministry of Health has outlined a plan to replace foreign workers with Bahraini nationals in government hospitals, according to its response to a parliamentary committee investigating job nationalization in the public and private sectors.

As per the Ministry's response, 36% of the workforce in government hospitals—1,951 employees—are foreign nationals. This includes 111 doctors, 1,738 nurses, 85 support staff, and 17 administrative staff.

Between 2020 and 2023, 594 Bahrainis were hired in government hospitals, alongside 930 foreign nationals, leading to a 44% increase in foreign employment. However, 672 foreign employees also left during the same period.

The Ministry attributed the challenges of replacing foreign workers to several factors, including:

• A shortage of Bahraini applicants.
• Insufficient graduates in specialized fields.
• Retirement of Bahraini staff.
• Reluctance among Bahraini graduates to work in government hospitals.

Focus on Key Specializations

The Ministry’s replacement plan targets several key specializations, including:

• Anesthesiology: 29 positions.
• Accident and Emergency: 21 positions.
• Intensive Care Unit (ICU): 10 positions.
• Internal Medicine: 10 positions.
• General Surgery: 9 positions.
• Radiology: 9 positions.
• Neurology: 7 positions.
• Gynecology: 6 positions.
• Orthopedics: 4 positions.
• Pathology: 4 positions.
• HBDC (Hematology and Blood Diseases Centre): 1 position.

The plan’s success is contingent on several factors, including securing sufficient budget, ensuring the availability of qualified Bahraini graduates, maintaining current service levels, and addressing employee turnover.

The Ministry stressed the importance of balancing workforce nationalization efforts with the need to uphold the quality and continuity of healthcare services.