Riyadh hospital to be named after Prince Muhammad 

(MENAFN - Arab News) Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered an east Riyadh hospital nearing completion to be named after Prince Muhammad, Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah announced on Saturday.

Prince Muhammad, a former governor of Madinah, was the fourth son of King Abdul Aziz. During his tenure, the prince was mainly responsible for the construction of several hospitals, pharmacies and government hospitals in the Madinah governorate.

The minister thanked the king for supporting the ministry as it expands health care services to serve more people in the Kingdom.

Al-Rabeeah added that the final touches were being put on the hospital, located at Exit 15 of the ring road near the Al-Rajhi Mosque in east Riyadh. The 500-bed hospital is being built on an area of 120,000 square meters.

"The facility, which costs SR455 million, is one of the largest hospitals in the capital to be maintained by the Ministry of Health," the minister said.

The hospital is designed and constructed according to US standards, Al-Rabeeah said.

Meanwhile, a meeting on Saturday of the Health Services Council's executive board chaired by Al-Rabeeah chalked out an operation plan for the eradication of schistosomiasis.

It was also decided to allocate a special day to raise awareness about the disease annually.

Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Khalid Al-Mirghalani told Arab News that the ministry has been successfully implementing a program against schistosomiasis.

Schistosomiasis is a disease caused by parasites entering humans by attaching to the skin, penetrating it, and then migrating through the venous system to the portal veins where they reproduce. Symptoms include fever, abdominal discomfort and blood in stool.