A study of the implementation and impact of turn-key management contracts in hospitals in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This thesis is a study of Turn-Key Management Contracts in government hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The rapid growth in Saudi Arabia's economy during the last three decades has led to the development of the health care system of the country at a pace unmatched anywhere in the world. The lack of available skilled manpower together with a lack of relevant experience of managing a modern health care system led inevitably to the introduction of management contracts, which on the whole, were and are awarded to companies with expertise in Western health care systems. As the term 'turn-key' indicates, the contractor is responsible for managing and operating hospitals. These contractual arrangements include; the provision of quality improvement, recruitment, finance, purchasing, maintenance, housing, transportation and training. Research was conducted in five contracted hospitals in Saudi Arabia and in three NHS hospitals in the UK. The purpose of the study is to examine the validity of this method of running hospitals and it will explore, in depth, the strengths and weaknesses of this system. In the light of the data collected, recommendations will be put forward which will attempt to address some of the fundamental problems which have to be faced by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the health care field in the coming years.