Poorer sections of the cities have older facilities, which nevertheless offer acceptable services. Hospitals are listed in telephone directories and the yellow pages, and addresses can be found in tourist publications. When choosing a hospital, your best bet is to seek recommendations from colleagues and friends.
There are several different types of hospital, including public and private hospitals and military establishments. Some hospitals in the private sector are luxuriously appointed and could easily pass as five-star hotel accommodation. Their prices are at a similar level.
Most of Kuwait’s private hospitals have an out-patients’ department and an accident and emergency unit, although casualties are likely to be directed towards public hospitals by the emergency services, e.g. in the case of road accidents.
The term ‘clinic’ is used to denote a general practitioner’s surgery.
There’s little overcrowding in hospitals and clinics in Kuwait, where hospitals and major clinics are open 24 hours a day and usually operate on a first come, first served basis. Arabic and English are widely spoken, English being frequently used in private hospitals, where many staff and most patients are foreign. Accommodation in private hospitals is generally in single rooms rather than wards, and parents can stay with their children. Facilities usually include such ‘luxuries’ as a television and radio in every room, a cafeteria, a mosque or prayer room and a library. Costs for accommodation vary considerably, according to whether a hospital is super-luxurious (i.e. with a large mosque and library) or more modest (i.e. with small ones). Treatment costs usually vary according to the standard of accommodation.
Public hospitals include the Al-Adan Hospital (Tel. 965-394 0600), Amiri Hospital (Tel. 965-245 0005), Farwaniya Hospital (Tel. 965-488 8000), Mubarak Al-Kabir Hospital (Tel. 965-531 1437) and the Sabah Hospital (Tel. 965-481 200).
Private hospitals include the Al-Salem Hospital (Tel. 965-253 3177), Hadi Private Clinic (Tel. 965-531 2555), International Clinic (Tel. 965-574 5111), Kuwait Clinic (Tel. 965-573 5111) and the Mowasat Private Clinic (Tel. 965-571 1533).