‘Prices of medicines to decline in private hospitals, pharmacies’
Panel eyes radical reform at overseas medical offices
KUWAIT CITY, July 29: In the next two months, medicines will witness a decline in prices in the hospitals and pharmacies of the private sector, reports Al-Shahed daily.
Informed sources indicated that the fall in prices could reach more than 25 percent, due to efforts exerted by the relevant Gulf committee responsible for making quotations and unifying the prices of medicines throughout GCC countries.
During the first phase of the task to reduce the prices of drugs, the committee reduced the prices of nearly 1,200 medicines in 2016.
Meanwhile, Head of the Parliamentary Committee for investigating violations in the Health Ministry and overseas health offices MP Salah Khorshid said a new round of campaign to offices in London and Washington will begin next week, reports Al-Wasat daily.
The daily quoting sources declared the intention of the committee to institute radical reform, especially in the employment policy at the overseas medical offices.
They added members of the committee returned from trips to France and Germany recently where they investigated important files, as directed by the National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanim. They noted a meeting of the committee’s technical office will take place to discuss outcome of the trip.
Contract
Sources explained the contract between overseas health offices and the hospitals is quite different from transacting with mediators, indicating the contract with hospitals entails an official procedure with specified conditions, while those of the mediators are not official. They reiterated mediators are considered the link between health offices and the hospitals.
Meanwhile, the committee on its trip to Germany and France recently recorded violations from one health office to another, and it’s important to amend employment policy at the health offices through the appointment of Kuwaiti citizens only to reduce financial and administrative violations. They also stressed the significance of documenting violations so as to guarantee transparency and a neutral stance during investigation.
In the meantime, six medical centers in Jahra and Ahmadi health zones are waiting for the positions of the heads of doctors to be filled, reports Al-Anba daily.
Ministry of Health announced the vacancies for positions of the heads of Abdali Medical Center, and Kabad Medical Center, which is affiliated to Jahra Health Zone as well as Head of Bneider-Wafra-Sabah Al-AhmadKhairan) at Ahmadi Health Zone.
It also announced a vacancy for the Head of Primary Health Care Unit in Jahra Health Zone.
Meanwhile, Ministry of Health requested all its sectors to provide it with the existing and concluded agreements signed by the ministry with universities, international colleges, technical institutions and consultancy firms. Some among them will be extended while new agreements are expected to be concluded soon so that those projects are covered in the budget of the new fiscal year 2018/2019.