A medical city in Oman is necessary for human health and economy

Edited Text by Dr AbdulMalik Al Hinai

Translated by Azza Bint Abdulaziz Al Hinaiyah

About ten years ago, the first steps were taken to establish a medical city in Oman, and its establishment aimed to raise the efficiency of the health system and expand it, and it was conceived at that time that the medical city would be included in projects to be established by the government and other projects established by the private sector and that it would provide thousands of jobs for Omanis and other competencies and will integrate some existing specialities and institutions to improve efficiency and specialisation.

In recent years, the project has been out of sight, and the need for it has become more urgent for two reasons, the first reason is to reduce the need for thousands of Omanis to travel abroad for treatment and to make a lot of effort and money to get treatment for them, their families and their loved ones. The second reason is the need to invest in a national project that serves long-term social and economic development and stimulates the economy in the short and medium-term, by mobilising local resources from the private sector and national funds and attracting capital and technology from abroad.

The latest issue of the Annual Statistical Book for 2019 gives some indicators of Oman’s health sector, for example, the number of hospital beds in 2019 was 15 beds per 10,000 population, down from 17.8 in 2010, while the number of doctors increased from 18.1 in 2010 to 20.8 physicians per 10,000 inhabitants. When we move to the expense side, the current expenses of the Ministry of Health increased from RO 341.5 million to RO 728.8 million during the same period, on the other hand, investment expenses decreased from RO 56.9 million to RO 23.7 million, and the ratio of the total expenditure of the Ministry of Health to total government expenditure increased slightly from 5 per cent in 2010 to 5.7 per cent in 2019.

The experiences of countries such as India or Thailand can be used to make Oman a regional Medical Centre, as they develop their economy based on cheap tourism to an economy in which the health sector has become a major component, as well as the expertise of Iran, which has built itself for years as a regional centre of ophthalmology and continues to do so despite political and economic pressures

For Omanis travelling abroad for treatment, no accurate statistics are showing their numbers or the costs of their treatment, whether it is government treatment or at their expense and the expense of their families. Many of them go to well-known countries, such as Thailand, India, Iran and Germany, with an estimated 100,000 patients a year. While these figures are difficult to verify, treatment abroad is undoubtedly draining much of the incomes of families and the national economy. This is in addition to the extreme hardship endured by the patient and his family, and their suffering is most severe in cases of serious illness or the death of the patient outside the homeland and the forced return of his family with a body.

Many of these diseases can certainly be treated in Oman hospitals, but the long waiting period for appointments in government hospitals makes it difficult for the patient and his family to wait, as the patient’s rest and recovery is a matter of time, either healing, rest, pain and death. It has therefore become important to give greater priority to the health sector and to harness the resources needed to expand and develop its services. The advancement of the Medical City project (referred to above) deserves attention so that a city that offers the highest treatment to all people/citizens free of charge, as this is a human right, and in addition to treatment other services, such as private rooms or other rest services, but the patient or his family must pay for it.

If we highlight such a project, we will find that it is a national project that has positive social and economic impacts. The government’s ability to provide services to the population is also a major concern. In addition, it can make Oman a regional centre for providing medical services and a destination for people for treatment and hospitalisation. Especially from Arab and African countries, all of which lack advanced medical services. On the economic side, the establishment of a medical city has great benefits, both in terms of reducing citizens’ transfers of large amounts of treatment abroad and in terms of bringing in funds from abroad for treatment or otherwise. In addition to helping to provide many job opportunities for Omanis in critical and important specialities such as specialised medicine and supporting medical professions, as well as attracting high talent from abroad in those disciplines.

The experiences of countries such as India or Thailand can be used to make Oman a regional Medical Centre, as they develop their economy based on cheap tourism to an economy in which the health sector has become a major component, as well as the expertise of Iran, which has built itself for years as a regional centre of ophthalmology and continues to do so despite political and economic pressures.

In terms of the impact of this project on economic growth during its implementation period, it would undoubtedly be significant, and financing its construction would be difficult, especially if it was to be carried out in partnership between the Government and the private sector. If the cost of the project is RO 1 billion, as previously estimated, and takes three to five years to implement, it is not difficult for the government to manage about RO 500 million and to manage the local private sector and investors from abroad like it throughout the implementation of the project, especially if the appropriate environment is created for investment in the project and promote it well. The city’s operating expenses can be managed by the government’s annual budget and from the public budget and from the suspension of its establishment, as well as from the fees paid by non-citizens for treatment, as well as the income from some non-free services in the medical city.

There is no doubt that the implementation of the project will immediately revive several sectors such as transport, trade, banking, finance and insurance, in addition to creating hundreds, even thousands of jobs during and after the implementation period and will also revive the areas around the city during and after implementation.

The proposed medical city must be established in a location where population concentration, services and institutions can be integrated to increase the efficiency of available resources, so Muscat Governorate is the most suitable place for it, and there is more than one suitable location, such as the seaside areas southeast of Muscat.

Dr Abdulmalik concludes his article by saying: Some may think that the economic conditions are not suitable for a project like this because it is expensive and has no direct financial returns. But it is true that in addition to the humanitarian and developmental need for this project, the economy is now in urgent need of large projects, stimulating growth and generating jobs. There are major international institutions that have previously expressed interest in investing in Oman’s health sector.