King Khalid Hospital Alkharj wins double honours at Healthcare Asia Awards 2025

The hospital’s groundbreaking stroke swallowing assessment programme and enhanced emergency care initiatives set new standards in patient care.

King Khalid Hospital Alkharj, a member of Riyadh First Healthcluster, has been recognised for excellence in healthcare innovation at the Healthcare Asia Awards 2025. These accolades highlight the hospital’s commitment to enhancing stroke management and revolutionising emergency department services.

Revolutionising stroke care

King Khalid Hospital Alkharj launched an Instrumental Swallowing Assessment service, a first-of-its-kind initiative led by a multidisciplinary team, to address the high risk of aspiration pneumonia and extended hospital stays amongst stroke patients.

Before this initiative, the hospital’s stroke patients only underwent bedside clinical swallowing assessments. To enhance accuracy and outcomes, King Khalid Hospital Alkharj coordinated with a higher medical centre to provide training to SLPs on Instrumental Swallowing Assessment procedures, Functional Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing (FEES), and a Video-fluoroscopic Swallowing Study (VFSS), or modified barium swallow study (MBSS).

A multidisciplinary team was then created, led by the Head of the Rehabilitation Center. The project team enlisted necessary requirements and studied challenges (e.g. SLPs’ lack of privileges for instrumental assessment, a lack of standardised protocol for swallowing assessments for stroke patients, and an unclear patient pathway).

Then, the team standardised the process by approving new general swallowing assessment protocols. This includes enhanced communication between neurologists and SLPs, highlighting when to refer to SLPs as well as the importance of a swallowing assessment by physicians within four hours of admission.

Since the implementation of the initiative in November 2023, the hospital has witnessed a reduction in the ICU length of stay for stroke patients from 6.2 days in 2023 to 4.2 days in the fourth quarter of 2024. There was also a noticeable drop in general ward stay from 4.3 days in 2023 to 2.6 days in the fourth quarter of 2024, resulting in an estimated SAR 800,000 cost avoidance.

Additionally, there was a significant decrease in acute stroke mortality from 7% in 2023 to 2.3% in quarter four of 2024. Lastly, there was a drop in aspiration pneumonia-related stroke deaths, from 4% in 2023 to 2.1% in 2024.

By improving stroke care pathways and early aspiration risk detection, King Khalid Hospital Alkharj has set a new benchmark for stroke rehabilitation in Saudi Arabia and took home the Allied Health Initiative of the Year - Saudi Arabia accolade.

Emergency care with a customer-centric approach

In addition to clinical excellence, the hospital has also been honoured with the Customer Service Initiative of the Year - Saudi Arabia for its transformative efforts in enhancing emergency department (ED) efficiency and patient satisfaction.

In early 2023, the hospital faced a decline in ER satisfaction scores, dropping from 83.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 74.5% in the first quarter of 2023. This was linked to long waiting times, increased patient complaints, and process inefficiencies.

To address these challenges, the hospital launched a patient-centred ED improvement strategy, featuring a new ED Navigator assigned to assist patients, communicate treatment plans, and ensure smooth coordination between patients and healthcare providers.

The hospital also established a patient feedback call centre, which calls patients after their visit to gather insights on service gaps and implement corrective measures.

Additionally, King Khalid Hospital Alkharj implemented an innovative digital monitoring system that colour-codes tracking of waiting times and treatment decisions for real-time process improvements.

Meanwhile, key operational enhancements include a one-directional patient pathway to minimise congestion, the renovation of the ED waiting area, mandatory orientation sessions to improve staff communication skills, and the empowerment of urgent care doctors to issue sick leave, preventing unnecessary ED returns.

The hospital’s ED transformation project has led to remarkable improvements. Patient satisfaction scores surged from 74.5% (Q1 2023) to 88.5% (Q4 2023); mystery visitor scores improved from 82% (Q1 2023) to 93.87% (Q4 2023); and door-to-disposition times improved, with 90% of ER patients being treated within four hours by October 2024, compared to 70.4% in January 2023.

These initiatives not only improve patient outcomes and satisfaction but also establish the hospital as a leader in medical innovation and service excellence in Saudi Arabia.

The Healthcare Asia Awards honours exceptional hospitals across the region that have redefined the standards of excellence in the industry through their innovative solutions and substantial contributions to communities.

The Healthcare Asia Awards is presented by Healthcare Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 awards programme and be acclaimed for your organisation's remarkable initiatives and contributions to the healthcare industry, please contact Julie Anne Nuñez at [email protected].