RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Oct. 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSH) has expanded capacity for complex care by redesigning the emergency patient journey, meeting rising demand without compromising timely access for patients requiring highly specialized treatment.
KFSH operates more than 1,500 beds dedicated to high-complexity services that include transplantation, oncology, immunotherapy, cardiac care, and other tertiary and quaternary programs. In this environment, Emergency Department delays can affect bed availability, scheduled treatment, critical transfers, and the ability to accept complex referrals.
The hospital addressed this challenge through coordinated process redesign. Stable patients can be admitted directly from outpatient clinics when appropriate, avoiding unnecessary passage through emergency care. Morning discharges, medication processing, laboratory testing, and radiology services were streamlined to improve inpatient turnover and release capacity earlier in the day.
Real-time oversight from the AI-enabled Patient Flow and Capacity Command Centre supports these pathways by identifying delays, forecasting pressure, and directing operational attention where it is needed. Together, the changes reduced median Emergency Department boarding time from more than 13 hours in 2023 to 3.2 hours by mid-2025.
KFSH treats capacity as a hospital-wide clinical resource rather than a simple bed count. Effective capacity depends on how quickly patients receive decisions, diagnostics, treatment, transfer, and safe discharge. By improving flow across the full journey, KFSH can accommodate more complex cases while maintaining responsiveness for urgent patients and safeguarding the performance of specialized services.
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre has been ranked first in the Middle East and Africa and 12th globally among the world's top 250 academic medical centers for 2026. It was also recognized as the most valuable healthcare brand in the Kingdom and the Middle East for 2026, according to Brand Finance, and listed by Newsweek among the World's Best Hospitals, World's Best Smart Hospitals, and World's Best Specialized Hospitals for 2026.
For more information, please contact Media Coverage at KFSH: mediacoverage@kfshrc.edu.sa
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