Abstract

The healthcare system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is operated by the government through the ministry of health (MOH) (Alkhamis, 2012). The ministry operates a total of 274 civilian hospitals as well as 2, 325 primary healthcare centers. In addition to these healthcare facilities, other KSA organizations that provide healthcare services include; referral hospitals such as King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, military services such as the armed forces and national guard health facilities, universities and schools health units by the ministry of education. The military hospitals in KSA such as Riyadh Military Hospital are particularly important because they provide advanced healthcare services to military personnel, their dependents, and eligible civilian population. In addition, the military health professionals provide emergency medical services to the civilian population in times of emergency such as natural disasters and terrorist attacks (Mufti, 2000).

However, the burden in civilian hospitals is increasing considering the rising civilian population in KSA. For instance, the 2010 KSA census showed that the total population in the kingdom is 27.1 million, which represented a  3.2% population growth compared to the 22.6 million total population reported in 2004 (Alkhamis, 2012). Projections by the United Nations indicate that the KSA population is expected to rise to 39.8 million by 2025 and 54.7 million by 2050 (Alkhamis, 2012). It is also estimated that the aging population of Saudis aged 60 years above, who are at increased risk of diseases, would rise to 2.5 million by 2020 (Yusuf, 2014). In addition, the tertiary healthcare facilities are not sufficient to accommodate patients with chronic diseases who are referred for specialist medical care (Saleh & Otaibi, 2010). Therefore, the increased population growth in KSA is expected to increase the pressure in civilian hospitals, which are the main facilities where most of the KSA population access healthcare services. According to Lingawi et al. (2016), the population growth and lifestyle changes in the KSA population has led to increased demand for healthcare services. Consequently, the available healthcare infrastructure is strained while investment in new healthcare facilities to increase capacity place a growing burden on public finances (Lingawi et al., 2016).