| The evolution of health services in Kuwait has been strongly influenced by the oil industry. At the beginning of this century, the only medical services were provided by doctors visiting the British diplomatic corps and by medical missions. With the introduction of oil exploration (1953), the oil companies provided Western-style health facilities for their own employees, and at this time an embryo government medical service began to materialize. The 1950s and '60s witnessed enormous reorganization and expansion of services paralleled by increases in the number of qualified medical staff and in the training programmes for local auxiliary health workers. Statistics for the period 1949-63 illustrate the improvements in private and government medical services, numbers of hospital beds available, and numbers of the different categories of qualified staff. The latest developments include an expanded public health service, increased health education, a school medical service, more local health units, and more Kuwaitis within the health service. |