Bahrain: Bahrain Health Profile

Today, the economic base of Bahrain includes oil and petrochemicals, manufacturing such as aluminum, dry dock for super tankers, banking, oil financial and commercial services. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to numerous multinational firms with business in the region, and its central location have as well made it a favorable transit spot for a lot of airlines to numerous western and eastern. For several consecutive years Bahrain ranked number one on the Human Development Index part Arab nations. It has a number of well established, non-oil dependent industries, inclunding the infrastructure needed to sustain these industries.

The health services in the Kingdom of Bahrain goes back to the early nineteen century at the same time as the American Mission Hospital was established in 1903 with a 21 bed capacity treated Bahrainis inclunding a lot of other patients who traveled from neighboring nations for treatment. Two years later, the memorial Victoria hospital was opened with 12 bed capacity, the hospital was staffed by general practitioner appointed British Government in India. The government services started in 1925 with a small clinic opened in a small shop and staffed by an Indian doctor appointed by the government to treat injured pearl divers. It was in the same year that a preventive care directorate, the Public Health Directorate was established.

Given the fact that the Ministry of Health is the major dominant player in the public health care system, its structure, given below represents the organizational structure of public health care system. The Ministry of Health is responsible for planning and providing health services for all people with very limited but growing participation from the private sectors.

The Minister of Health is a member of the Council of Ministers chaired by the Prime Minister. The national public health system is represented by the Ministry of Health and other ministries who influence the performance of the health system and whom services affect the health status of the people. Those ministries as well statement to the cabinet and include Ministry of Finance which is responsible for provision of biannual budget, approving and financing all projects related to health, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Defense that manage the Bahrain Defense Force hospital, ministry of labor and Ministry of Education. A lot of projects are conducted in coordination and collaboration with these ministries.

Comprehensive health services are provided to the whole people in line with the World Health Organization world objectives. Most health care is provided by the Ministry of Health. Primary health care is the cornerstone of the public health services.
Through a network of twenty primary health care centers and three clinics scattered throughout the five governorate of the kingdom, primary health care is provided to all citizen. Secondary care is represented by the Salmaniya Medical Complex, the psychiatric hospital, geriatric hospital and four maternity hospitals. Public health care service is as well provided by the Bahrain Defense Force Hospital (BDF) under the umbrella of the Ministry of Defense. BDF services are offered to members of the Bahrain defense force and their families inclunding emergency care to the public and cardiac care servicesto the whole people.

Since the inception of primary health care in Bahrain, attempts have been made to address the issues facing the development of primary health care in line with the declaration of Alma Ata in 1978. Primary care services are based on family and community health care approach and include a wide scope of curative and preventive services such as maternal and child health, immunization, dental and oral health, social workers and workers health. Health centers are staffed by family physicians who have undergone appropriate intensive training o provide a high quality of preventive and curative care to all members of the family within the context of the community. They are empowered with a team of allied medical and technical staff providing a wide range of services such as nursing, pharmaceutical, laboratory, radiological, clerical and medical record services. Physiotherapy services have been introduced at some health centers and will be any minute at this time expanded to establish a unit in each of the five governorates of Bahrain. Based on the Bahrain Health Strategy 2002-2010, the primary health care continued to be the cornerstone of public health services. It as well continue to focus on improving services in the context of two major dimensions, quality and equality, as lately, a lot of services have been launched to improve the quality of patient care, These include the diabetic and pediatrics dental clinics, school health, adolescent health and elderly care). Social services were introduced to explore and properly handle social problems that in capitates the health status.