Introduction
The quality of a country’s healthcare system is determined by different criteria, including such factors as states’ costs for medical aid, access to care, and other aspects. In Saudi Arabia, considerable attention is paid to the development of this industry, and in comparison with some other powers, healthcare services in local cities have a higher potential. In order to analyse the quality of work in relation to promoting and maintaining the considered field, it is possible to use those demographic data that are freely available, in particular, age, gender, economic and education. This paper is aimed at identifying the features of the structure and work of emergency medical services in Saudi Arabia and policies that are designed to monitor the activities of the healthcare sector.
Saudi Arabia’s and Riyadh’s Basic Situation in Terms of the Population
Demographic Characteristics
The demographic situation in the country is favourable for the development of the healthcare industry. According to the official data of 2019, the population of Saudi Arabia is 34.14 million people (GMI Blogger 2016, para. 3). The number of people living in Riyadh, the capital of the country, is 7.7 million people (Riyadh Population 2019, para. 7). In terms of the gender structure of society, the ratio of males and females is about the same. According to GMI Blogger (2016, para. 14), today, there are “18.76 million men and 14.33 women” in the country, and based on the total population in the state, the ratio of males and females is 56.69% and 43.31%, respectively. Concerning age characteristics, Saudi Arabia is rather a young state since the overwhelming number of people (47%) is in the age from 25 to 54, and residents over 65 constitute the smallest category (1.1 million) (GMI Blogger 2016, para. 15). In general, as GMI Blogger (2016, para. 17) notes, over the past ten years, the country’s population has grown by almost 8 million. This indicates a significant increase and a favourable family-oriented state policy.
Education
The country’s educational system is closely intersected with religion since the study of Islam is one of the key topics of preparing pupils for adult life. Today, state university students may obtain a degree in virtually any discipline (Education 2019). A large number of universities and schools are concentrated in the capital, and according to the official data, only 8% of the population is illiterate, which creates an additional objective for the state to reduce this figure (Riyadh Population 2019, para. 6). The Ministry of Education makes enough efforts to set regulations and takes steps to assist in the special training of children and adults.
Income and Health Expenditures
In terms of GDP per capita, Saudi Arabia has high rates. According to official data of 2017, from the countries of G20, the state occupies the fourth position with the figure of $49,045,41 (Saudi Arabia GDP per capita PPP 2019). On the first lines of this rating, Singapore, Switzerland, and the USA are located. When estimating the state’s expenditures on healthcare, it can be noted that the government spends not a very large percentage of total GDP (approximately 5.74%) (Current health expenditure 2019). For comparison, in Switzerland, this figure is 12.25%, and in the USA – 17.07% (Current health expenditure 2019). Therefore, more attention could be paid to sponsoring public health.
Healthcare Systems
The Saudi Arabian healthcare system is supported and sponsored by the government. According to Al-Hanawi (2017), the principle of state responsibility for public health is defined by official legislation, although, as the author argues, the country spends less on these needs than many other powers. Regarding medical emergency response services, the principle of providing urgent care is based on the Anglo-American model, which implies the rapid transportation of patients to responsible medical specialists (AlShammari, Jennings & Williams 2017). All the healthcare institutions of the country adhere to this method.
The system of regulation of the health sector is stable, and public policies aimed at maintaining the adequate level of monitoring contribute to developing this industry. In particular, Al Khamis (2016) notes that in the country, two principles of control over the area in question exist – macro and micro, and the difference between them lies in the scale of objectives. Regarding the system of emergency medical response service provisions, Alrazeeni et al. (2016) argue that in Saudi Arabia, strict monitoring of all the cases of urgent calls is carried out, and the study shows that mortality control for various reasons is performed. In general, the structure of emergency medical services is extensive and, as Al Mutairi et al. (2016, p. 13086) remark, “includes an emergency physician, paramedics, technicians, firefighters and ambulance drivers”. It is possible to note that the system is orderly and well-organised.
People Died Affected by Response Time
Ambulance response time is a crucial indicator that largely characterises the quality of the training of emergency services specialists and allows evaluating their work. According to the study conducted by Alnemer et al. (2016, p. 33), in the capital of Saudi Arabia, this parameter is about 13 minutes, which is low compared with that of other countries and requires focused work to improve the activities of ambulance brigades. Also, the authors note that out of a total of 1133 registered emergency cases, “16 patients died: 13 patients died on scene, and 3 patients died during transport to the hospital” (Alnemer et al. 2016, p. 35). The vast majority of people was over 65 and died of heart problems. Despite the fact that, as Al-Ghalib (2019) argues, Saudi Cabinet members promote the regulation of issues related to the improvement of the emergency system, the situation remains tense. The response time indicator of 4 minutes is the objective to which it is essential to strive because if this threshold is exceeded, the chances of survival decrease significantly. Therefore, this issue is a significant aspect of the improvement policy.
Two Systems Clarification
The development of the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia is the consequence of interested boards’ organised work. However, in the context of assessing this area, it is essential to take into account specific separation based on different models. In particular, when talking about the principles of emergency medical care, it is necessary to note the state’s adherence to the Anglo-American system but not the Franco-German, which is the result of the transition to a new method of organising urgent care. In addition, according to the study conducted by Dawoud et al. (2016), many of the country’s emergency services are overloaded with non-emergent cases, which necessitates the distinction between the conditions of care in hospitals and intensive units. It is crucial to promote the policy of separating the conditions of medical care in different institutions in accordance with their types and purposes in order to avoid the overloading of individual facilities.
The differentiation of models is also an urgent task due to the need to maintain the satisfaction of the population with the quality of healthcare services. As Abolfotouh et al. (2017) remark, an ability to provide professional emergency assistance characterises this area as highly effective. Accordingly, in order to regulate both standard medical practice and the sphere of emergency healthcare, it is crucial to approach the monitoring and organisation of both spheres differently.
Ambulance System in Saudi Arabia
The ambulance system in Saudi Arabia seeks to improve, although some difficulties arise. In particular, as Al-Aseri (2017) states, specialised training for employees of this profile began in 2000, and educational programs have not yet proved their unconditional effectiveness. The author also compares the local ambulance system with that of American and notes that the number of emergency patients seen per hour is higher in the eastern country than in the western one, which may be due to incorrect time allocation (Al-Aseri 2017). In its principle of training employees for work in this area, the Saudi approach is similar to that of Canadian, where a corresponding educational base is also not developed comprehensively (Al-Aseri 2017). Therefore, one of the main tasks of regulating policies controlling emergency services in Saudi Arabia is to improve the local training programs to increase the productivity of the boards under consideration.
Conclusion
The structure of public healthcare in Saudi Arabia and the principles of the organisation of its individual branches, in particular, emergency care, are improved constantly, but there are issues that require urgent decisions, for instance, reducing the ambulance response time. The training of specialists in many respects lags behind world standards, and one of the reasons may be an insufficient amount of expenditures on healthcare. In general, economic and social background in Saudi Arabia is favourable for introducing the relevant methods of monitoring this area and implementing innovative educational practices.
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