Crown Prince Visits Health Ministry
His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister today visited the Ministry of Health as part of his field visits to ministries and government organisations.
During the visit, His Royal Highness stressed that it was the right of citizens to experience dedicated health care services through the provision of health facilities that offer optimal service. He also noted that the success of services depends on the development of a comprehensive and sustainable system that covers all aspects of health care.The Minister of Health, His Excellency Sadiq AbdulKarim Al Shehabi, welcomed His Royal Highness’ visit and briefed him on the Ministry’s 24 strategic initiatives, which include upgrade and construction projects. He stressed that these strategies are based on the criteria of sustainability, access to health care, and quality of services.
His Royal Highness also met with ministry staff and spoke to them about their tasks and roles in providing health services, noting the valuable efforts of all the staff at the ministry.His Royal Highness said that these visits to ministries are designed to encourage continued tangible improvements to the performance of services provided to citizens.
In this regard, he thanked the Ministry for its ambition and affirmed that support will continue in order to ensure that the Ministry’s plans are fully executed and delivered.His Royal Highness underlined the importance of enacting thorough and sustainable plans to continue progress in health services across all areas, while also ensuring that the optimal utilisation of resources and financing is achieved. His Royal Highness went on to highlight governance of the health sector, the financing of health services, the health service delivery system, and the regulation of the health sector as policy areas that should receive focus, based on studies that track performance and requirements.
His Royal Highness further spoke of the importance of transparency alongside readiness for dealing with the occurrence of communicable diseases. He also shed light on the importance of applying modern approaches in dealing with locally common diseases and illness while implementing an effective treatment and follow up system, based on long-term rather than temporary solutions.His Royal Highness went on to say that providing health care solutions and a set of options for costs was also important and should be ensured in parallel with public awareness campaigns on precautionary measures and ways of receiving health services at a suitable cost.
His Royal Highness also touched on policies regulating the role of the private sector in providing health care in collaboration with the public sector, with a view to increasing the contribution of the private sector in offering health services.While at the Ministry, His Royal Highness launched the suggestions and complaints e-system for the Ministry of Health and wider e-government services, saying it was important to maximise the benefit of such services and technology for the continued development of ministry programmes. His Royal Highness noted that implementing such projects supports efforts to upgrade governmental efficiency and provide better services.
For his part, His Excellency the Minister of Health said the ministry was cooperating with the E-government Authority to implement the suggestions and complaints e-system as a channel to respond to requests in a timely manner. The Minister also thanked His Royal Highness for the visit, his directives, and his encouragement.
