Has anyone had experience with the hospital in Dhahran, specifically in regards to childbirth?
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Poor air quality will impact the development of a healthy baby, before and after birth. I don’t consider it responsible for economic migrants (read expats and family) to raise children in such a highly polluted atmosphere.
My son broke his arm and the first doctor we met spoke only pigeon English, she asked for help, and fortunately an Egyptian doctor with excellent English was able to assist.
Don’t think I would want to give birth there, or undergo anything complex. Anyone that can goes out of Kingdom for those kind of things.
Second hand info but this is what I heard. A while ago Aramco stopped direct contracts with medical staff at JHAH and this led to the new employer greatly decreasing terms and conditions. It resulted in attrition of good (and expat) doctors. Those that are there now are young and inexperienced or older and settling for poorer benefits packages.
This mirrors the lack of quality of the current expats joining Aramco. Aramco can no longer attract the best.
JHAH used to have some of the best doctors who truly cared about their patients. Then they started cutting costs leading to one medical blunder after another. Believe me, I've seen the transition and heard a lot of horror stories from both expats and Saudis.
I suggest that you get your pregnant wife the best care possible elsewhere. I wouldn't put her life, or the baby, at risk there in JHAH. There is nothing more important.
Like so many things here it’s inconsistent. You get the right doctor it’s ok. If not then, well, take your chances. It’s up to Allah if fortune shines upon your soul.
All docs I’ve seen recently are from MENA or local, so don’t expect and expat physician.
Aramco Healthcare is hit or miss. Get the wrong doctor and things won't go well. Heard of a woman who almost died from a burst appendix because the ER doctor said it was menstrual cramps. On the other hand, heard of another lady had cancer treatments there and the docs at MD Anderson agreed with what JHAH had done. If your wife is a high risk pregnancy, then I personally would not recommend it.
My experience for a small ailment was immediate medication to address symptoms (one of which I never took) rather than discussing root cause.
I heard around not to do anything serious with JH. Many expats leave the country for that sort of stuff.