Kuwait City: Twenty-three expatriate doctors of internal medicine have resigned from the Al Sabah Hospital over the past three years.
A Kuwaiti woman doctor has also joined the private sector, which caused Al Sabah Hospital a shortage of physicians by 69 per cent.
"Seventeen Kuwaiti doctors only work in the department of internal medicine which requires at least 55 physicians," said Health Minister Dr Sheikh Basel Al Sabah.
He revealed the figures while responding to a parliamentary query about the resignation of 23 doctors in three years.
He said that Kuwaiti doctors will get priority when hiring new physicians to cover shortages at various hospitals, especially in view of a lack of Civil Service Commission (CSC) vacancies for non-Kuwaiti doctors.
He pointed out that the total number of Kuwaiti internal medicine doctors in various public hospitals stands at 417.