Royal Hospital could become public maternity facility

TDT | Manama

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Parliament is set to vote on Tuesday on a proposal to convert the Royal Hospital for Women and Children (Al Malaki) into a public maternity hospital serving the Southern Governorate.

The Services Committee has recommended approval, saying the public-interest grounds presented for the proposal justify its support.

The proposal was submitted by MPs Bader Al Tameemi, Dr Ali Al Nuaimi, Ali Saqer Al Doseri, Mohammed Mousa and Mohammed Al Rifai. It calls for the hospital to be brought under the Ministry of Health to provide maternity and related healthcare services to residents of Riffa and surrounding areas.

Al Tameemi said the aim was to establish the facility as a public maternity hospital serving the area, noting that Riffa and nearby districts are among the most densely populated in Bahrain.

He said converting the hospital into a public facility would help narrow gaps in access to healthcare for women and children and promote a fairer distribution of health services across the Kingdom.

Al Tameemi added that the hospital is already specialised, with trained staff and equipment in obstetrics and paediatrics, and said integrating it into the public system would reduce travel for patients currently seeking care elsewhere. He also said it could ease the financial burden on families who rely on private hospitals, where maternity and newborn care costs can be high.