Saudi health sector wins 36 international awards in London

Saudi Arabia’s healthcare system has achieved a new international milestone, winning 36 gold, silver, and bronze awards at the 2026 International Customer Experience Awards (ICXA) held in London. Of these, 29 awards went to Health Holding Company and its affiliated health clusters, underscoring the progress of Saudi healthcare services in performance quality and beneficiary experience.

The global competition saw participation from organizations in over 50 countries since its inception, with more than 400 entries in its ninth edition. The awards covered various customer experience fields and included health institutions, government entities, and global companies in technology, telecommunications, aviation, and financial services, such as Lenovo, Schneider Electric, Turkish Airlines, Vodafone, and Sanofi. Entries were evaluated by independent international juries, assessing achievement portfolios and live presentations of competing initiatives.

This achievement aligns with the goals of the Health Sector Transformation Program, part of Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to improve access to healthcare, raise quality and efficiency, enhance beneficiary experience, and promote a culture of institutional excellence.

Riyadh First Health Cluster led the Saudi health participants with 11 awards, including four gold, four silver, and three bronze, across patient experience, employee engagement, innovation, learning and development, call centers, and complaint management, with contributions from several affiliated facilities.

Madinah Health Cluster won six awards—three gold, two silver, and one bronze—in patient experience, digital transformation, beneficiary feedback, and leadership excellence in customer experience.

Eastern Health Cluster also secured six awards, including three gold, one silver, and two bronze, in innovation, customer experience in financial services, technology use, digital transformation, organizational change, and customer experience strategy.

Al-Ahsa Health Cluster received five awards—three gold and two bronze—in beneficiary feedback, organizational transformation, education and development, beneficiary experience, and technology use. Najran Health Cluster earned the silver award for Best Patient Experience among organizations with over 5,000 employees.

At the Ministry of Health level, the Najran branch won four awards: one gold and three bronze, in leadership in customer experience, organizational change and transformation, patient experience, and beneficiary focus.

The Ministry of Interior’s Medical Services, represented by Dammam Security Forces Hospital, claimed three awards: gold for Best Call Center, silver for Best Strategic Approach to Patient Experience, and bronze for Putting Customers at the Heart of Everything.

In a separate international achievement, Eastern Health Cluster was named “Best Practice” in the International Best Practice Competition (IBPC 2026) in the financial resource management category, reflecting its efforts to enhance performance efficiency and adopt advanced institutional practices.

These accomplishments highlight the ongoing progress of Saudi Arabia’s healthcare system in developing services and fostering a culture of institutional excellence, under the supervision and regulation of the Ministry of Health and the collaborative efforts of health entities to improve care quality and beneficiary experience, strengthening the Kingdom’s international presence and competitiveness.