MUSCAT -- Dubbed as a major fillip to the Sultanate's ambitious health sector and to the government's ongoing Omanisation drive, as many as 686 para-medical staff graduated from the various institutes under the Ministry of Health, in 2009, according to a recent report. These staff members include nurses, laboratory technicians, technicians, radiographers, assistant pharmacists, and other categories who are working under the ministry.
"This number of graduates is in addition to the graduation of the ninth batch of health statisticians through a programme developed jointly by the MoH and College of Science in the Sultan Qaboos University (SQU). This reflects the success of the efforts of the ministry in developing nationals and thus increasing the Omanisation rates," the report stated.
During the year 2009, there was a marked increase in the number and types of institutions other than the MoH institutions. Two private hospitals came up in the Sultanate making the number of total private hospitals to 5 with 189 beds in addition to the 817 private clinics of which 51.3 per cent are specialised clinics. The ministry, in its endeavour to accelerate indigenous human resources development, supports education in a wider range of health professions, locally and overseas at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Locally, the MoH has established training institutes which offer study programmes at first diploma as well as post diploma levels. Added to that, the ministry has a continuous sponsorship programme of selective undergraduate and postgraduate studies overseas in a comprehensive range of specialties, the report states.
By Kabeer Yousuf
© Oman Daily Observer 2010
