GCC: Bahrain Healthcare Sector & Jobs Update 2018

Bahrain healthcare

Current Bahrain Healthcare System & Infrastructure

Bahrain’s healthcare system is the oldest in the GCC region with the first modern hospital in the Gulf established in Bahrain in 1903. Today Bahrain is one of the most advanced countries in the GCC region in terms of healthcare provision. Bahrain healthcare practitioners are highly-qualified and hospitals and medical centres are well-equipped. The Ministry of Health’s  ‘Health-for-All’ objective was achieved in the early 1990s, where comprehensive health services are provided free to Bahrain nationals and subsidised for non-Bahrain nationals.

Ten Live GroupIn 2014 total expenditure on health was 6% of GDP. Within the last three decades, there have been major improvements in Bahrain healthcare in terms of infrastructure to create the current modern, technologically-advanced and comprehensive facilities, including 4 state hospitals, 16 private healthcare institutions and a large number of clinics and maternity hospitals. There is high demand for specialised medical services and latest medical surgical procedures such as transplants are already available. Many Bahrain national doctors and nurses have studied aboard and returned to Bahrain to practice in the Bahrain healthcare sector.

Bahrain has one of the highest levels of health expenditure and is also among the healthiest nations in the Gulf1. Bahrain’s government allocated 6.6% of its overall spending towards healthcare in the 2013-2014 budget. There are more doctors, nurses, and dentists per population in Bahrain than any other country in the GCC. As of 2012, there were more than 3,000 people working in the private healthcare sector and 9,821 in the public healthcare sector2, 79.1% of which are Bahraini nationals.
In June 2014, the Kingdom of Bahrain’s National Health Information System won the “Enhanced Public Knowledge Management” Systems for West Asia region award at the United Nations Public Service Awards 2014 in Seoul, South Korea, in recognition of the National Health Information System (I-Seha) and its significant contribution to the development of public healthcare in the Kingdom of Bahrain.

 

Current Bahrain Healthcare Issues

Life expectancy is high in Bahrain, having increased from 60 to years 76 for men and 78 for women in the last 3 decades. The quality of maternal and child health care is also high, reflected in the low infant mortality rate and in the decrease in maternal mortality.

However, as with other GCC countries Bahrain is currently suffering from an obesity epidemic. Due to globalisation, to the rapid increase in living standards, increased consumption of fast-foods and eating out, more sedentary lifestyles almost two-thirds of adults are either overweight or obese.  This nutrition transition is causing cause a sharp increase in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases such as a cardiovascular disease which now accounts for 32% of all deaths in Bahrain, the number one cause of death in the country, followed by cancer in second place. 

Bahrain Healthcare – 2018 Government Priority & Development Plans

Ten Live GroupHealthcare continues to be a priority sector for the government of Bahrain in 2018 under the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) which develops policies of the health systems and healthcare in Bahrain, in accordance with the best scientific principles and health standards. An increasing population, increase in life expectancy rate and increase in chronic non-communicable diseases continues to drive further change in Bahrain’s healthcare system under its Health Improvement Strategy (2015- 2018), in line with Bahrain’s Economic Vision of 2030. Historically, the healthcare sector in Bahrain was heavily dependent on government-run facilities and public money, but with new legislation allowing for 100% foreign ownership of private healthcare facilities, coupled with the arrival of a national health insurance scheme, there has been a drive for greater involvement by private sector companies which will further push the development of the sector.

New Bahrain Healthcare Sector Developments & New Jobs

King Abdullah Medical City

In 2017 Bahrain commenced construction of a $1bn medical city on Bahrain’s east coast. Bahrain’s Works, Municipalities Affairs, and Urban Planning Ministry completed the infrastructure design work in October 2017. Work is set to begin on July 30, 2018, and when construction is complete in 2019, the complex will employ over 700 medical staff. The facilities will include a 288-bed service and teaching hospital and outpatient clinic and phase two plans for construction will increase the number of beds to 500.
Aster DM Healthcare Group  – Private Clinics & Hospital

In January 2018 Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare Group plans to launch a multi-specialty hospital in Bahrain, having set up its first two clinics in Gudaibiya and Sanad. The Group plans to provide services nationwide and will soon open its third clinic in Bahrain.  The Group’s chairman Dr. Azad Moopen said there was a huge demand for private clinics in Bahrain. The Group plans to invest BD10m in Bahrain, including the hospital by 2020 with an estimated budget of between BD5m and BD7m; “There is good demand in Bahrain, but there is a saturation level of high-end hospitals,” added Dr. Moopen. “But there are not enough beds in the medium size hospitals, which indicates there is a big requirement in this category.” The doctor said private players were increasingly taking on a key role in the healthcare sector. “When I came to this part of the world, only the government provided treatment,” he said, “This has now changed with private players operating across the GCC in the health sector. The biggest change to happen is the introduction of mandatory insurance cover for expats in Gulf countries by their employers, which provides them basic health cover. Bahrain is due to start rolling out the National Health Insurance Scheme (Sehati) this year. Under Sehati every person in the country will be covered by health insurance. Nationals will be covered for free, but employers will have to pay additional fees for expat staff members.

Looking to recruit quality healthcare staff in the GCC region?

Contact

Ten Live Group
Award-Winning GCC Healthcare Recruitment Specialists

Healthcare, Education & Training, Energy Oil & Gas, Telecoms, Rail Transportation & Infrastructure, Logistics

T: + 44 1236 702 007
E: info@tenlivegroup.com

 SOURCES

TRADE ARABIA

ZAWAYA 

BAHRAIN BH PORTAL

BAHRAIN

FAO ORG

OXFORD BUSINESS GROUP

EXPORT GOV

MOH

 

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)

Blog resources to help you

Awards/Accreditations

Get in Touch

EmployerJob Seeker
Upload CV or Job Spec
+
+
+
+
[honeypot other-name]

Please tick to consent to your data being stored inline with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

I have read the privacy policy and I agree

If you have a general enquiry or would like to contact a Ten Live consultant, please complete the form or use the contact details below.

Job Listings      

 

 

 

GENERAL ENQUIRIES: info@tenlivegroup.com

LOGISTICS: logistics@tenlivegroup.com

EDUCATION & TRAINING: education@tenlivegroup.com

ENERGY | OIL & GAS | RENEWABLES | MARITIME | POWER & UTILITIES: energy@tenlivegroup.com

ENGINEERING & TECHNICAL: engineering@tenlivegroup.com

HEALTHCARE: healthcare@tenlivegroup.com

ACCOUNTS: accounts@tenlivegroup.com 

PAYROLL: payroll@tenlivegroup.com