Bahrain gears up to boost medical tourism

Manama : The Health Ministry has taken necessary steps to promote Bahrain as a favoured medical tourism destination, said official reports.

Thousands of GCC nationals have travelled to Bahrain last year to seek medical treatment, the reports stated.

A majority of patients travelling to Bahrain seeking medical care are Saudi nationals, comprising about 58 per cent. Qataris, Kuwaitis, Iraqis, Yemenis, Jordanians and Emiratis were among the other nationalities that travelled to Bahrain last year for medical treatment.

This information was mentioned in a report that will be presented and discussed by Health Minister Faeqa bint Saeed Al Saleh before lawmakers during their weekly meeting on Tuesday.

The report is part of the Minister’s reply to parliamentary queries regarding the Ministry’s strategies to develop medical tourism in Bahrain.

It was explained in the report that the visiting patients were treated at private and specialised healthcare establishments in the fields of plastic surgery, fertility and urology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, as well as general and alternative medicine.

The Ministry said that it is currently establishing additional healthcare facilities that will contribute in boosting medical tourism in the country.

These include the under-construction Shaikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Khalifa Cardiac Centre in Awali, the Oncology Centre at King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH) and King Abdula Medical City project in the Southern Governorate.

The report also mentions the latest official figures regarding the workforce in the medical field. It stated that 2,057 certified physicians practised medicine in 2015, in addition to 3,523 paramedics and 10,222 nurses, out of which 7,589 nurses worked in public healthcare institutions and 2,633 worked in private establishments.

More efforts taken by the Ministry will be openly discussed between the Minister and the MPs on Tuesday.

These efforts are apparently being globally recognised. A recent report published by Medical Tourism Magazines said, “Bahrain happens to be an example of a GCC nation, which realises the potential medical tourism offers them in terms of tourism, development, and economics.”