JEDDAH: The Health Ministry on Tuesday announced its plan to recruit a large number of medical staff, especially highly qualified consultants, to work in hospitals across the Kingdom. Some of these medical personnel would be hired to work for a few months as per requirements, it said.
“The recruitment is planned as part of the ministry’s strategy to improve the health services provided to citizens in different parts of the country and reduce the difficulties faced by patients while visiting central hospitals,” the announcement said.
The ministry did not say how many consultants and other medical experts it was looking for. But an advertisement on its website showed that it would require hundreds of specialists and other medical staff to run various departments in some hospitals.
Dr. Yassir Bahadur, consultant oncologist at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Jeddah, said the ministry’s new recruitment drive would help newly opened hospitals in various parts of the Kingdom get experienced and qualified medical staff.
“There is a huge shortage of highly qualified consultants in the Kingdom’s hospitals, especially after the opening of new hospitals and medical colleges in different parts of the country,” Bahadur told Arab News.
He said the new recruitment plan would allow consultants on leave in the Kingdom to work for other hospitals. “This is a quick solution to the shortage of highly qualified consultants, which has become an international phenomenon,” Bahadur said.
The hospitals that required medical staff include Dammam Medical Center, Qatif Central Hospital, King Khaled Hospital in Hafr Al-Baten, King Fahd Hospital in Hufouf, King Khaled Hospital in Najran, King Fahd Hospital in Baha, King Abdul Aziz Specialist Hospital in Taif, King Khaled Hospital in Tabuk, Arar Central Hospital, King Fahd Central Hospital in Jazan, King Khaled Hospital in Hail, King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Buraidah, King Fahd Hospital in Madinah, Asir Central Hospital, King Abdullah Hospital in Bisha, King Abdul Aziz Hospital and Tumor Center in Jeddah.
The medical vacancies announced by the ministry include intensive care staff, cardiologists, surgeons, neurologists, oncologists, ophthalmologists, experts in plastic surgery, rheumatologists, dentists, pediatricians, psychologists, internists, ENT specialists, experts in blood diseases, gynecologists, experts in renal diseases, radiologists and laboratory technicians.
The ministry said applicants should be consultants in their field of specialization, adding that the contract period is one to three months. Selected candidates have to work 48 hours a week. Interested candidates may send their CVs to de-curative@moh.gov.sa.