Health minister honors winners of 8th Health Performance Awards

Health Minister Fahad Al-Jalajel honored the winners of the eighth edition of the Health Performance Awards this evening in Riyadh. The event was held in strategic partnership with the National Health Insurance Center and attended by leaders from the health sector, partners, and specialists.

The awards recognized winners across six categories, reflecting the diversity of healthcare excellence, improving individual and community health experiences, raising care quality, and strengthening prevention. These efforts support the goals of the Health Sector Transformation Program under Saudi Vision 2030, aiming for a 'Vibrant Society' with better health and an 'Ambitious Nation' built on institutional efficiency and excellence.

In the lifesaving excellence category, King Saud Medical City under Riyadh Health Cluster One took first place for cardiac arrest response, while Madinah General Hospital under Madinah Health Cluster won first for stroke response. King Fahd General Hospital under Jeddah Health Cluster Two placed second. For trauma response, King Khalid Hospital under Tabuk Health Cluster ranked first, followed by King Fahd Hospital under Madinah Health Cluster. In primary care excellence, Al-Ahsa Health Cluster led, followed by Riyadh Health Cluster One and Tabuk Health Cluster.

In emergency care excellence, King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Madinah took first place, King Saud Medical City in Riyadh Health Cluster One was second, and King Khalid Hospital in Hafar Al-Batin was third. For public health and prevention, Jeddah Health Cluster Two won first for tobacco cessation rates, followed by Northern Borders Health Cluster and Asir Health Cluster. Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare in Dhahran led in early screening for chronic diseases, followed by Najran Health Cluster and the Armed Forces Hospital in Jazan, affiliated with the Ministry of Defense.

In maternal care excellence, King Fahd Medical City under Riyadh Health Cluster Two ranked first, with Dr. Sulaiman Fakeeh Hospital in Riyadh second. For service efficiency, King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital in Jeddah, Ministry of Defense, led in care system accountability, followed by King Fahd Medical City and Mouwasat Hospital in Jubail. Prince Sultan Cardiac Center in Riyadh, Ministry of Defense, topped the service efficiency category, with Al-Rass General Hospital in Qassim Health Cluster and Hail General Hospital in Hail Health Cluster in second and third places, respectively.

The Health Performance Awards also included leadership honors: King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh won for patient experience leadership; the General Directorate of Medical Services at the Ministry of Interior received the award for performance management maturity; and the National Guard Health Affairs was recognized for improving employee experience.

The health sector transformation, supported by initiatives like the Health Performance Awards, has fostered an environment that boosts performance and service quality. As a result, weekly surgeries in health clusters have increased from about 2,000 at the first edition to around 13,000 now, with the sector-wide total exceeding 18,600 per week. The percentage of emergency patients served within four hours rose from about 36% before the transformation to 94.6% currently. The health service quality index improved from 48% to 70.4% in 2025, surpassing the annual target of 60%.

Launched in 2018, the Health Performance Awards have established themselves as a national platform for encouraging excellence and innovation, supporting Vision 2030 by promoting a culture of continuous improvement in healthcare and honoring exemplary individuals and institutions.