Armed Forced Hospital

Armed Forced Hospital, known as the Armed Forces Hospital in the Southern Region, provides integrated medical services in southern Saudi Arabia. Over four decades of development, its capacity has reached 571 beds, with plans to become an integrated medical city.

Medical services and specialist facilities

• Obstetrics and gynecology facilities have expanded to 60 beds, with 25 beds for newborns. Neonatal intensive care capacity has increased from 36 to 56 beds.
• Two additional operating rooms have brought the hospital's operating room total to nine. A separate 156-bed expansion includes 120 inpatient beds, 13 intensive care beds, 23 beds for endoscopy and day surgery, and five operating rooms: three for major procedures and two for minor procedures.
• Developments include a nuclear medicine department, the southern region's first spinal surgery unit, replacement of most diagnostic equipment and refurbishment of medical departments, a 45-clinic specialist outpatient building, and a clinical nutrition building.
• Two family and community medicine centers providing family physician services have opened in Ahad Rafidah and Abha.
• Prince Khalid bin Sultan Heart Center has 70 beds: nine for coronary care, nine for intensive care, 22 for male inpatients, 20 for female inpatients, and 10 for children. Facilities include three cardiac catheterization laboratories, two cardiac operating rooms, five clinics, and a pediatric cardiology clinic. Services include all types of open-heart surgery, cardiac catheterization and artery dilation, pacemaker implantation, and cardiac imaging.
• The kidney disease and dialysis center has expanded from 40 hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis machines to 75 dialysis machines operating in three daily shifts: 70 for adults and five for children. It provides the southern region's only pediatric hemodialysis service and serves approximately 150–180 patients. Between 1989 and 2022, 761 patients benefited from kidney transplantation at the center.
• The diabetes center has 52 specialist clinics: eight for adults, six for children and adolescents, six for pregnant women, six for intensive insulin treatment, six for insulin pumps, 10 for cardiac, kidney, eye, and dental complications, and 10 for diabetic foot care, wounds, skin, nails, foot mechanics, casting, and splinting. It also includes an oxygen therapy clinic, health education and nutrition departments, a dedicated diabetes pharmacy, and a blood testing laboratory.
• Dental developments include a 32-clinic expansion and a new 64-clinic general and specialist dental center. The center includes three surgical rooms, four recovery rooms, 16 inpatient beds, an advanced laboratory, four rooms for central radiology and three-dimensional CT imaging, a lecture hall equipped with the latest technology, a laser device, and a CAD-CAM system. Together with 37 existing clinics, these developments bring the dental clinic total to 133.

Medical milestones, quality and training

• The first open-heart surgery in the Middle East was performed at King Faisal Military City in 1395 AH (1975), with participation from a United States medical team.
• The southern region's first successful heart transplant was performed on 09/01/1419 AH, corresponding to 05/05/1998.
• The kidney disease and dialysis center opened in 1989 in cooperation with Liverpool Hospital in the United Kingdom and the Armed Forces Hospital in Riyadh. It is among the Kingdom's leading organ transplant centers, ranks second among Armed Forces hospital centers by transplant patient numbers, and holds a leading position for surgical success rates.
• The emergency department has been renovated to meet Joint Commission International (JCI) requirements.
• The nursing institute has been expanded in preparation for conversion into a college awarding bachelor's degrees in nursing.
• The male training institute has been developed into a health studies center offering technical diplomas in emergency care and first aid, pharmacy, nursing, and respiratory resuscitation, with all specialist laboratories updated.
• The central laboratory and blood bank achieved international accreditation and passed College of American Pathologists assessments seven consecutive times between 2002 and 2014. It also received American Association of Blood Banks accreditation nine consecutive times between 2007 and 2022.

Expansion projects

Projects underway support the hospital's planned development into an integrated medical city with specialist centers and expanded medical subspecialties.

• Expansion of intensive care by eight beds, bringing capacity to 24 beds.
• Expansion of central sterilization facilities and operating rooms.
• A 300-bed center for women, maternity, and children.
• A 200-bed emergency and trauma center.
• A 160-bed kidney center and a 70-bed oncology center.
• A 50-bed health center at King Khalid Air Base.
• A specialist outpatient building with 200 clinics.
• A physiotherapy and medical rehabilitation center.
• A family and community medicine building.

Vision and mission

The hospital's vision is a sustainable, healthy community for Ministry of Defense personnel and their families.

Its mission is to promote healthy lifestyles for these communities, adopt best practices in digital transformation and knowledge management, and collaborate with Saudi Arabia's healthcare sector to deliver integrated preventive and medical services professionally, in accordance with international quality and safety standards during war and peace.