Major medical centre set to double capacity

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday checked on health services presented to citizens at the army-run King Hussein Medical Centre (KHMC), a major medical institution nationwide.

On a tour of the Prince Hussein Ibn Abdullah II Centre for kidney diseases, surgery and organ implantation, His Majesty checked on inpatients and outpatients who happened to be at the facility, according to a Royal Court statement.

King Abdullah called on people in charge to continue the provision of the best medical services to beneficiaries at all of the departments and clinics of KHMC.

The King also held a meeting with Royal Medical Services (RMS) director, Maj. Gen. Muin Habashneh, attended by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Mahmoud Freihat, to discuss initial blueprints for a JD500 million KHMC makeover.

The government will fund the project, which will be implemented according to up-to-date medical standards, the statement said, adding that the UAE, through the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, has offered a grant of JD141 million to contribute to the first phase of the project.

His Majesty highlighted the importance of speeding up the implementation process, which aims to mitigate the suffering of citizens and improve the quality of services they receive at the centre, which treats all army and security personnel and pensioners and their dependants, along with civilians.

The King voiced his pride and appreciation for all the RMS personnel for their distinguished efforts despite increasing work pressures, especially at the KHMC, stressing the need to continue building the good reputation they have achieved at the local and regional levels. 

He also expressed appreciation for the UAE’s support to the first phase of the KHMC development project, which stressing the “brotherly, historical and distinguished” relations between Amman and Abu Dhabi.

The KHMC development project, which is scheduled to be implemented within three phases, the first of which extends to 2024, aims to increase the bed capacity by 1,120 beds, to amount to a total of 2,472 beds, marking an increase rate of 97 per cent, according to the statement. 

The facility usually witnesses overcrowding of patients whose number in 2017 surpassed 6.2 million, including 200,000 inpatients. 

More than 100,000 surgeries, including 3,000 open heart operations and more than 16,000 catheterisations, and 35,000 childbirths were recorded, in addition to 30 million X lab tests and 1.5 million ray procedures.

His Majesty was briefed by Habashneh on preparations and executive plans to implement the new project, where the director said that the project’s first phase, which will last four to five years, will include building a three-wing tower of 32 storeys.

The total area of the tower will stand at some 318,000 sq.m. with a capacity of 940 beds, and will substitute the KHMC that was established in 1973.

The first phase will see the establishment of an emergency department of 129 beds, an ICU with 144 beds, a 43-bed operation room section, 50 units for kidney dialysis, and fully furnished X-ray and medical laboratories department.