GCC Healthcare Market 2018 To 2021 – Opportunities & Jobs
Improvements in GCC healthcare in the last 20–30 years region have been largely due to the investment and development of health infrastructure by the public sector.
Over the past 5–10 years, however, driven by insurance reforms in some GCC countries, the private sector has begun to make sizable long-term investments in healthcare together with GCC governments looking to support private sector investment in an attempt to diversify their economies.
Despite this growth, healthcare systems in the GCC region continue to lag behind international standards in terms of the number of beds, doctors and medical staff per 1,000 population.
More recently GCC governments a number of factors are driving heavy investment to improve their healthcare infrastructures, as well as access to health services and standards of care;
- Rising health care costs are a result of the absence of specialty healthcare across the region and the quality of the available treatment in the home country. According to a poll, about 39% UAE nationals said they would travel abroad for treatment
- A rapidly growing population – by 2020 the GCC population is forecast to reach 53.5m, a 30% increase over 2000, 57m by 2025, and 71m by 2050
- The pensionable population (65+ years) in the GCC region is predicted to grow at 8% CAGR between the period 2014–24, compared to a historical 4% CAGR from 2010 till 2014
- Significant decline in mortality rates and increased life expectancy in all six GCC countries requiring significant investment in care needs for the older generation – still relatively at the early stages of each country’s policy agenda
- An increase in the healthcare needs of GCC citizens and migrant workers due to an increase in the occurrence of lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and heart ailments is likely to add to increase the need for specialised care centers and doctors
What Growth & Investment Is Forecast For The GCC Healthcare Market?
To ease the growing pressure on the healthcare system, GCC governments are injecting huge funds as well as encouraging private sector participation to build hospitals and clinics, upgrade the existing infrastructure, and match the quality of services offered in developed countries
- The GCC healthcare market is projected to grow at a 12.1% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) from $40.3bn in 2015 to an estimated $71bn by 2020
- The healthcare market in individual GCC countries is anticipated to expand by between 11-13 percent between 2015 and 2020.
- The demand for the number of hospital beds in the GCC region is projected to grow at a 2.3% CAGR from an estimated 101,797 in 2015 to 113,925 in 2020
- The outpatient market is forecast to reach $42.4bn in 2020 from $24 billion in 2015, while the inpatient market is anticipated to grow from $16.4bn to $28.9bn during the same period
Where Will Jobs Be In GCC Healthcare In The Future To 2021?
There is a current shortage of local healthcare staff in GCC countries and a high dependence on expatriates who consider employment in GCC healthcare as a stepping-stone to gain experience and then seek careers in Western countries – In 2013 c.65% of the total healthcare workforce in GCC countries were expatriates (90% in the private sector and 50% in the public sector) compared to UK which has an 11% non-British health care workforce
There will be a need to recruit a large number of healthcare staff to fill future healthcare jobs for major planned new investments across the GCC region in;
Where Will Jobs Be In GCC Healthcare In The Future To 2021 – Primary Care?
Given the global shortage of specialized and skilled healthcare talent, developing a local talent pool, particularly for clinical services has become a major priority for almost all GCC countries
GCC countries are currently going through major labour reforms to reduce the dependence on expatriates by establishing more education facilities and also supporting and funding the education of students abroad in health care specializations – medical and health sciences student enrolment in UAE universities currently represent 7.3% of the total student population of both private and public universities, significantly lower when compared to North American and Western European countries (average of 15.8%) and to the global average of 11.8%
GCC countries will need to increase efforts to promote job opportunities and careers in the health sector among nationals in;
- Doctors, nurses – internal medicine, general surgery, anesthesiology, radiology
- Health administration, health economics, health regulations and health informatics
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Where Will Jobs Be In GCC Healthcare In The Future To 2021? Specialised Centres of Excellence/Healthcare Tourism
To meet the increase of lifestyle diseases across the GCC region, significant demand is expected for additional doctors, nurses, specialists, surgeons, nutritionists and physiotherapists in;
- Oncology
- Orthopaedics and Cardiology
- Obstetrics & Gynaecology
- Paediatrics
- Endocrinology (diabetes)
Long-term and post-acute care rehabilitation- Future GGC Job Opportunities
- Inpatient rehabilitation facilities
- Long-term-care hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Home care services
- Outpatient rehabilitation services — physical/speech therapy
Home Health Care Services – Future GGC Job Opportunities
- Doctors, nurses, home health aides, attendants, telehealth services staff, second medical services staff
- Trauma and post-surgical nursing care:
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Rehabilitation
- Paediatric home care
- Geriatric care
Other Future GGC Job Opportunities
- Biotechnology
- Healthcare technology
- Medical disposables manufacturing
Conclusions
The healthcare sector in the GCC region is currently faced with enormous challenges in meeting increasing healthcare demands. Commitment from GCC governments and the private sector are securing a bright new future for GCC healthcare with major planned investments representing significant opportunities for the private sector and healthcare professionals globally over the next four years
What is your experience in the GCC healthcare sector and where do you see the growth opportunities?
Looking to recruit quality healthcare staff in the GCC region?
Contact
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Award-Winning GCC Recruitment Specialists
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Note: The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) is a political and economic alliance of six Middle Eastern countries— KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia), Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. The GCC was established in KSA in May 1981
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