Bahrain healthcare among the ‘best in the world’
Embassy Newsletter 23 June 2015
Bahrain has some of the best healthcare services in the world, according to a new global quality of life index.
Numbeo, the world’s largest database of user-generated content about cities and countries, found that Bahrain came second only to Japan in terms of overall quality of the healthcare system, healthcare professionals, equipment, staff, doctors and level of cost, reports Gulf Daily News (GDN).
Using data collated from online surveys — as opposed to official government reports — the site found that Bahrain was 21 places ahead of the UK and 15 ranks higher than its nearest GCC rival Qatar, which was placed 17th in the world in terms of healthcare. Meanwhile, Kuwait came 42nd — on par with India and Singapore — while Saudi Arabia was 53rd, the UAE 63rd and Oman was not listed.
Bahrain Medical Society president Dr Mohammed Abdulla Rafie welcomed the fact that the country’s healthcare system was being internationally recognized. He affirmed that Bahrain provides quality primary and secondary healthcare in comparison with other countries. Bahrain provides free medical services to citizens, including access to some of the best medicines and modern equipment, and expatriates benefit as well, paying less for operations.
Bahrain also ranked as safer than the UK and Australia in The Numbeo Quality of Life Index 2015. Bahrain placed at 38th safest country in the world, only one place behind New Zealand and 11 places ahead of Kuwait, but trailed behind Saudi Arabia by 10 places, while the UAE ranked ninth and Qatar sixth in terms of safety. The safest country in the world, according to the index, is Singapore.
Overall, Bahrain ranked 47th in the world for quality of life — behind Saudi (12th), the UAE (18th), Qatar (20th) and Kuwait (29th). This is attributed to levels of pollution, where Bahrain ranked eighth most polluted — second only to Qatar among GCC nations. Numbeo puts the highest weight on pollution — so that a poor ranking cannot be counterbalanced by strong economy or safety ratings. The second highest level of importance is on safety.
