Bahrain's 22 health centres saw more than three million patients last year, it emerged yesterday.

They were treated by 278 physicians who spent an average of just 3.47 minutes with each patient, said Primary Care and Public Health assistant under-secretary Dr Mariam Al Jalahma.

However, she said the amount of time given to each patient would be doubled by the start of next year.

She revealed the figure was already improving thanks to more trained nurses sharing the workload and a determined effort to recruit more physicians.

"This figure has since improved considerably after the introduction of a system in which trained nurses take care of more than 30 per cent of the patients, eliminating the need for physicians' intervention, as well as recruiting more physicians," she told a Press conference at the Rufaida Building, Salmaniya, yesterday.

"We now stand at around five minutes with each patient and are looking at increasing it further to around seven minutes by the start of next year - coming close to an internationally-accepted 10 minutes per patient."

Dr Al Jalahma said this would be achieved with more trained nurses joining primary healthcare and more doctors being recruited.

"We have already received approvals to hire 20 doctors until the end of 2009 and 18 new recruits from the country's Family Practice Residency Programme are also joining."

She said there were also plans to improve medical equipment, procure more effective drugs, construct modern buildings, recruit required manpower and increase overall staff satisfaction.

Dr Al Jalahma said part of the reason for the "growing pressure" on primary care was the increasing population.

She said in addition to the 3.05 million 'regular' patients, there were 647,000 antenatal visits, 410,500 vaccination visits, 112,600 paediatric consultation and 270,200 dental clinic visits.

"There is also the issue of increasing demand from society and rise in non-communicable diseases," she said.

"The cost of care has also skyrocketed, but the resources available at the ministry have not increased."

She also lamented the absence of a comprehensive communication network.

"Short consultation timings are the results of all these issues, but there is a limit to what the doctors and other staff can do," she said.

Dr Al Jalahma added that programmes were being implemented gradually, but said a "complete overhaul" would take some time.

She revealed that over the next two years, more effort would be made to integrate individual and community health services, while a comprehensive health information management system will be brought in.

"Working hours of health centres will be further extended and more facilities will be given during evening hours as well," she said. - TradeArabia News Service