What kind of activity have you seen in the Kuwaiti healthcare system in terms of construction of new hospitals and the expansion of existing ones?
Three years ago, the Kuwaiti government realized the need for new hospitals and new facilities, as the last hospital built in Kuwait was about 40 years ago. Lately, demand has also risen. The bed capacity in the hospitals under the Ministry of Health (MOH) in Kuwait is around 7,000, but considering the demographic trends in citizens and expats, the government saw an urgent need to double that number. Out of eight tenders awarded so far, we have been able to form partnerships with a significant number of awardees. In September 2015, the MOH inaugurated a hospital expansion project of 240 beds in the shape of Al Razi Hospital. Al Razi Hospital has a physiotherapy and rehabilitation center, dealing mainly with orthopedic surgery. The majority of the rooms are private and semi-private, meaning there are one or two beds in each room and no wardrooms with four or more beds, providing privacy to patients. The hospital also has rooms specially designed for obese patients. The hospital has infrastructure designed to carry it well into the future, to where it could even become a paperless hospital.
What are you seeing on the cutting-edge of medical technology?
Integration is rapidly evolving. People are looking for paper-free hospitals and automation, whether in the lab, radiology, or elsewhere, so that they can get their results as quickly and as efficiently as possible, ensuring faster and more reliable transfer of data between the various departments of the hospital or even amongst various clinics and hospitals in the country. This is possible through innovation and technology, and is how you can achieve total integration at healthcare facilities around the country. To be able to provide this integration, you must have a diverse portfolio and expertise within your own organization in order to be able to implement this properly and fully, and that's what puts us a step ahead of the competition. We partner with all the big names in both the public and private healthcare industry, and we do not only act as a distributor, but as a partner. We have long-term relationships both with our customers and with the international suppliers we represent.
What is your outlook on healthcare expansion in Kuwait and what are your expectations for future demand?
Adding new facilities and expanding or renovating existing facilities has gone a long way to helping meet current demands in Kuwait's healthcare system. Many of the shortcomings in the healthcare facilities of the country are taken care of by the new facilities. The government's new facilities, the doubling of bed capacity, the introduction of new technologies, the sourcing of experts from abroad, continuous government-run education programs, affiliations with international bodies, and the exchange of data all help to take care of future demands as they are forecast to arise.
