Conference highlights Kingdom as leading medical tourism destination

AMMAN — The First Promotional Conference on Pioneering Medical Surgeries in Jordan opened on Tuesday to review the leading surgeries by Jordanian doctors and highlight the Kingdom as an international and regional medical tourism destination.

Various health entities and the Ministry of Tourism are taking part in the two-day conference, organised by Jordan Heart Health Magazine in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

Addressing the gathering, Ministry of Health Secretary General for Technical and Administrative Affairs Ilham Khreisat said that the conference aims to promote the partnership between the public and the private medical sectors, which have turned the Kingdom into “a leader in the region” for medical tourism. 

Many advanced surgeries have been conducted by the Health Ministry and the Royal Medical Services in universities and private sector hospitals, thanks to the available medical resources and the “diverse expertise” in various surgical interventions, she said. 

Khreisat added that a strong medical sector that offers the necessary healthcare services requires partners to enhance medical tourism.

The ministry has recently begun an expansion of the health structure infrastructure, including opening the Samih Darwazah Oncology Centre, which has received 400 cancer patients since it became operational six months ago, she said.

The Specialised Surgery Hospital at Al-Bashir Hospitals has conducted 2,500 chest, open heart, blood vessels and catheterisation surgeries since it opened in August, as well as the expansion of cardiac surgeries at Prince Hamzah Hospital, the Specialty Surgery Hospital, the New Al Hussein Hospital and Al Karak Government Hospital, Khreisat added.

Head of the conference's scientific committee, Issa Ghanma, referred to the "qualitative" surgeries that have been conducted in the Kingdom, adding that many lectures and sessions will be held on medical tourism and various heart, bone, neurology, ear, nose and throat, bariatric and other surgeries in the Kingdom.

President of the Private Hospitals Association Fawzi Hamouri said that Jordanian doctors made “outstanding achievements” as the Jordanian medical sector invests in human resources, including doctors and nurses, in addition to fully equipped hospitals.