All cities and major towns have at least one modern hospital with state-of-the-art equipment and highly trained staff.
Poor sections of cities have older facilities that nevertheless maintain excellent treatment standards. Hospitals are listed in telephone directories and the yellow pages, and most addresses can also be found in tourist publications. When choosing a hospital for regular treatment, make sure to ask for recommendations from co-workers and friends.
There are several different types of Omani hospitals, including public, private and military establishments. Some hospitals in the private sector are luxuriously appointed and could easily pass for five-star hotels, thoughy they also charge five-star prices for treatment.
Most of Oman’s private hospitals have accident and emergency units in addition to their out-patient departments, though patients are more likely to be directed towards public hospitals by Omani emergency services in the event that they are involved in sudden trauma (car accidents, for example).
The term ‘clinic,’ meanwhile, usually denotes a general praciticioner´s surgical unit.
There’s little overcrowding in hospitals and clinics in Oman, even though these facilities are open 24 hours a day and usually operate on a first-come, first-serve basis.
While Arabic and English are both widely spoken, English is frequently used in private hospitals, where many staff and most patients are foreign. Accommodation in private hospitals is generally organized in single rooms rather than wards, allowing parents to stay with their children. Facilities usually include such ‘luxuries’ as a television and radio in every room, a cafeteria, in some cases even a prayer room and a library.
Hospital costs vary considerably, according to whether a hospital is super-luxurious (with a large mosque and library) or more modest (with small ones). Treatment costs usually parallel accomodation costs, so it is extremely unusual to find exceptional care in a hospital without luxurious facilities.
Hospitals include: