Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Inaugurates a Number of Medical Projects
at MNGHA Today May, 21st 2015
The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud inaugurated today a number of medical projects in the Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs, including King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and Central Laboratory.
Upon his arrival at King Abdulaziz Medical City- Riyadh, he was accompanied by Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, and he was received by Prince Faisal bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Governor of Riyadh Region; Prince Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard, Prince Saad bin Miteb bin Abdullah, His Excellency Abdulmohsen Al-Tuwaijri, Deputy Minister of National Guard and His Excellency Chief Executive Director of Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs Dr. Bandar Al Knawy.
Upon his arrival, the royal anthem was played, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques cut the ribbon of the opening ceremony of the medical projects, and viewed a replica of those project.
Then, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques toured King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital and met a number of in-patient children who are in the Special Care Unit and he was reassured of their health and the medical care provided to them. He was also briefed on the Emergency Department and met with the hospital's consultants.
After that, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques went to King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences building, and after taking his place in the main podium, the ceremony prepared on this occasion was commenced by reciting verses from the Holy Quran.
Then, Prince Miteb bin Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, Minister of the National Guard delivered a speech in which he welcomed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and their Highnesses and the rest of the officials by saying: "this is a glorious remarkable day, and it is a great honor to have you here on this special occasion. It is my honor and on behalf of my brothers and my fellow employees of MNGHA to welcome you here”.
Prince Miteb hailed the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’ patronage of the opening ceremony of the new medical projects in the National Guard's Health Affairs, as an extension of his interest in the health of citizens, the development of the health sector and his commitment to improving medical services in our country, as a confirmation of our wise government's attention and care to this vital and important aspect and the ongoing support of whatever helps in the promotion of human health and safety.
His Highness Prince Miteb added: "before more than half a century ago, this place was a uninhabited desert that has no sign of life, but your brother, the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud - may Allah have mercy upon his soul – and through his insight, vision and determination, saw that this remote spot will have a closely bilateral unique relationship between land and man, under the title (National Guard), and now, we see the transformation of this desert to be an integrated military force with all its facilities, medical cities and hospitals, compounds along with a university and its colleges, here you are, your highness, in the same place marching on this journey led by firmness and the determination to elevate this nation and steer its progress and development”.
Moreover, His Highness confirmed that the directives of the late Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to establish a number of specialized and unique health projects in the region, represented by King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and Central Laboratory came to stand as an evidence for his keen interest on the development and progress towards the health field”.
In addition, His Highness added: "and here you are your highness, marching towards the same approach, seeking our nation’s development and the health needs of our citizens in particular. And now, kindly allow me to present a detailed overview of these projects. First, King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital which offers supreme medical services to children who are an essential pillar of any society, as they represent the building blocks for the future and will hold the torch for the improvement of our national treasure. The hospital is occupying 192,000 m2, over 10 storeys, with a total bed capacity of 600. The hospital consists of three towers rising 11 floors. The hospital is also characterized by the application of an automated, fully integrated health system based on world-class standards to provide IT solutions to raise the level of health services and ensure the safety of patients with the highest levels of technical competence”.
Second, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, which aims to be a global point of reference for applied medical research in all health disciplines, it is one of the leading projects in the development, support and deployment of scientific research necessary to generate cutting-edge scientific research that helps improve the health of the population along with creating an innovative research infrastructure. Third, the Central Laboratory located at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh and considered one of the largest laboratory-based stand-alone buildings; occupying 20,000 m2 with the latest international technology and specifications”.
Moreover, Prince Miteb asserted that these achievements would have been achieved only through a comprehensive developmental outlook pursued by our government’s vision and strategic planning in the health field, and adopted by the Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs as an outline to keep up with the advanced and rapid developments in health care, not only nationally, but globally.
Finally, Prince Miteb, expressed his own gratitude and on behalf of his colleagues in all MNGHA, to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques for honoring the inauguration ceremony of these medical projects.
Then, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the attendees watched a visual presentation of the medical projects. Afterwards, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques inaugurated the medical projects: King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center and Central Laboratory.
On the occasion, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques was gifted a replica of the projects.
At the end of the ceremony, the royal anthem was played and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques left the venue.
The ceremony was attended by Prince Khalid bin Bandar bin Abdulaziz, Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Dr. Mansour bin Miteb bin Abdulaziz, Minister of State, Cabinet's Member and Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Saud bin Abdullah bin Thunayan, President of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu; Prince Sattam bin Saud bin Abdulaziz; Prince Dr. Misha'al bin Abdullah bin Musaed, Adviser to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; Prince Khalid bin Abdullah bin Mohammed; Prince Dr. Saud bin Salman bin Mohammed ; Prince Khalid bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf, Undersecretary of the Ministry of National Guard for Regiments; Prince Naif bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz, Adviser at the Minister of Defense's office; ministers and senior officials.
It is worth mentioning that King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital is the first medical referral institute in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, occupying 192,000 m2, over 10 storeys, with a total bed capacity of 600. The hospital consists of three towers rising 11 floors, the first and second towers are allocated to provide children with superior medical care with the capacity of 364 beds in single rooms, distributed as 40 beds for Intensive Care, 48 beds for Oncology and bone marrow transplant patients, 8 beds for Psychiatry and 4 beds for Burns. On the other hand, the third tower is allocated for Adults and includes an Oncology Center with a capacity of 100 single rooms beds as well as Organ Transplant Surgery Centre with a capacity of 78 beds single rooms .
The three towers share a basements to include several vital sections and therapeutic units, such as the Emergency Medicine Department that has been fully equipped to receive injured children, the department contains 57 examination and treatment rooms .
The Paediatric Day Care for conducting minor operations contains 30 beds with seven private rooms and 8 blood drawing chairs, while the Radiotherapy section has 20 beds equipped with the latest cutting-edge technologies, and 16 surgical rooms equipped with state of the art surgical equipment, along with 10 beds for Anesthesia, and 26 Pre-operative and recovery beds for adults and children, and last but not least, the Specialized Outpatient Clinic Center.
In regards to King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, it is one of the leading projects in the development, support and deployment of scientific research necessary to generate cutting-edge scientific research that helps improve the health of the population along with creating an innovative research infrastructure which incorporates the highest standard of ethics in all research and healthcare practices. Besides this center in Riyadh, KAIMRC also has two branches located in the eastern and the western regions.
The center includes a three-level biosafety laboratories including 55 multi-use labs, 28 general labs, Operation rooms, Radiology rooms, DNA Bank, Genetic Tissue Bank, blood bank, laboratory Database and serology, microscopic particles lab, biochemistry and microbiology lab, and finally an immunology lab.
KAIMRC most prominent achievements is establishing the Stem Cell Bank, which plays a key role in understanding disease factors and the development of appropriate treatment for each disease. In addition, the Saudi Stem Cells Donor Registry which was founded for the purpose of forming a donors database for patients in need of Stem Cell transplantand the treatment of some chronic diseases (blood cancers and genetic diseases). Currently, the Saudi Stem Cells Donor Registry has been linked worldwide to stem cells registries in King Abdullah International Medical Research Center laboratories.
Similarly, the aim of the Central Laboratory in King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh is to provide analysis and referral lab services while maintaining the quality of laboratory analysis in accordance with the highest international standards through accreditation programs, and providing educational programs for training the national cadres in the field.
The Central Laboratory will serve King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh and all of the Ministry of National Guard health facilities kingdom wide, through the provision of a comprehensive list of clinical routine tests and advanced analysis using the latest technology in the areas of Molecular Genetics and Genomics, Biochemistry Genetics, Embryos preimplantation genetic diagnosis for screening, Cytogenetics and Cellular Genome, Molecular Oncology, Histology and cell disease, Electron Microscopy, Clinical Microbiology, Cellular Immunology and Vaccines, Hematology, Clinical Chemistry and Toxicology.
Finally, the Central Laboratory also contains classrooms, meeting rooms for Quality Management Services, Business Development and for educational and administrative purposes.