Expatriate Doctors Outnumber Kuwaiti Doctors

Based on the provisions of Civil Service Bureau Resolution No., the Ministry of Health implements a replacement policy. According to Al-Rai daily, statistics indicate that the localization of medical jobs, especially doctors, takes years, and that solutions are almost intractable in the near future, especially at the level of occupational groups included in it. In the context of enhancing reliance on national elements of medical competencies, health sources confirmed “the Ministry of Health has approved a number of measures in an attempt to reduce the recruitment of doctors from abroad, including an increase in doctors accepted in various specialties of the Kuwaiti Board by more than 50 percent, compared to previous years.

The number of doctors admitted across diverse specialties has increased significantly, exceeding previous years by more than 50 percent in some cases and even reaching 200 percent in others. Additionally, recognition is given to holders of the initial portion of the Kuwaiti and Saudi boards, equivalent to those with master’s and diploma degrees. Furthermore, British fellowship certifications are now considered for promotions among Kuwaiti doctors, including those with Kuwaiti mothers, as well as former bedoun who obtained these certificates prior to Ministerial Decision 306/2018 for direct recruitment of doctors from the offspring of Kuwaiti women and the ongoing enhancement of doctors’ rights and work environment are also pursued. Despite these efforts to harness national resources optimally, statistics suggest that the re-localization of doctors remains a complex challenge with elusive solutions in the short term.

Currently, Kuwait has approximately 6,000 non-Kuwaiti doctors in the public sector, compared to 4,000 Kuwaiti doctors. The disparity widens significantly in the private health sector, wherein around 500 Kuwaiti doctors serve in contrast to more than 3,500 non- Kuwaitis. In the same context, the sources saw that “the need for non-Kuwaiti doctors in the government sector may diminish somewhat with the near operation of the Health Insurance Company’s hospitals, and the transfer of a segment of residents estimated at two million people, but this does not mean closing the door to contracts with foreign doctors, especially With the aforementioned segment continuing to receive specialized services in the Ministry’s facilities.

As the ministry stressed, foreign doctors will continue to be needed for a long time, as a result of the limited number of Kuwaiti graduates compared to the growth of the healthcare system, as well as the successive opening of new health projects and the imminent delivery of others, as well as the lack of national elements in some medical specialties, particularly the rare ones.”

There were six measures highlighted by the ministry to increase Kuwaiti doctors' dependence — an average increase of more than 50 percent compared to previous years in the number of doctors accepted in Kuwaiti Board specializations; increasing the percentage of those admitted to some specialized programs of the Kuwaiti Board by up to 200 percent; equating the first part of the Kuwaiti Board with master's degrees. In addition to this, Saudis who have passed the first part of the Saudi board, which is similar to Kuwaitians, will be equal to Kuwaitis who have earned a master's degree and diploma; Kuwaiti doctors will be directly employed and doctors' rights will continue to be supported.

 

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