four new hospitals in the province of Makkah are under construction, according to a report by the Minister of Health, Abdullah Al-Rabeeah. The minister's report, which came in response to criticism from the National Society for Human Rights over the lack of hospitals in the region, said that 14 new hospitals and six medical towers with 4,000 beds were being built. Four replacement hospitals and 16 new hospitals are also penciled in for the ninth developmental plan for 2016. The report, which was forwarded to the Minister of Interior, the Emir of Makkah and the National Society for Human Rights, puts the number of planned hospital beds in the province at 13,050 beds, equivalent to 1.87 beds per 1,000 persons. The current number of beds in the region, according to the report, is 6,750 distributed over 32 hospitals, equaling 1.1 bed per 1,000 persons.
