The hospital’s groundbreaking stroke swallowing assessment program and enhanced emergency care program set new standards for patient care.
Khalid Hospital Alkharj, a member of Riyadh’s No. 1 Health Partner, has been recognized for his healthcare innovation at the 2025 Healthcare Asia Awards. These accolades underscore the hospital’s commitment to strengthen stroke management and revolutionize emergency room services.
Revolutionary stroke care
Khalid Hospital Alkharj launched an instrumental swallowing assessment service, the first initiative led by a multidisciplinary team to address the high risk of pneumonia aspiration pneumonia and to extend hospitalization in stroke patients.
Prior to this plan, patients with stroke at the hospital received only a bedside clinical swallowing assessment. To improve accuracy and results, Khalid Hospital Alkharj coordinated with the higher medical center to provide SLP with training on instrumental swallowing assessment procedures, functional endoscopic assessment of swallowing (cost) and video-Fluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) (VFSS) (VFSS) (VFS), or modified barge swallowing study (MBSS).
Then a multidisciplinary team led by the head of the rehabilitation center. The project team put forward the necessary requirements and examined challenges (such as the lack of privileges for tool evaluation of SLP, the lack of standardized protocols for swallowing evaluation in patients with stroke, and unclear patient pathways).
The team then standardized the process by approving a new general swallowing assessment protocol. This includes enhanced communication between neurologists and SLPs, highlighting when to refer to SLPs, and the importance of a doctor performing swallowing assessment 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.
In addition, the mortality rate for acute stroke has dropped significantly from 7% in 2023 to 2.3% in 2024. Finally, the decline in pneumonia-related stroke deaths fell from 4% in 2023 to 2.1% in 2024.
By improving stroke care pathways and early attack risk detection, Khalid Hospital Alkharj sets new benchmarks for stroke recovery in Saudi Arabia and brings back the Allied Health Initiative of the Year – Saudi Arabia Honors.
Client-centered emergency care
In addition to clinical excellence, the hospital is also subject to an annual customer service program – Saudi Arabia’s transformative efforts to improve emergency department (ED) efficiency and patient satisfaction.
In early 2023, the hospital faced a decline in ER satisfaction score, down from 83.9% in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 74.5% in the first quarter of 2023. This is related to longer waiting times, increased patient complaints and inefficient process.
To address these challenges, the hospital initiated a patient-centered improvement strategy that is characterized by helping patients, communicating treatment plans and ensuring smooth coordination between patients and healthcare providers.
The hospital also established a patient feedback call center that calls patients after visits to gather insights about service gaps and take corrective action.
Additionally, Khalid Hospital Alkharj implements an innovative digital monitoring system that encodes latency and treatment decisions to improve the real-time process.
Meanwhile, key operational enhancements include a one-by-one guided patient pathway to minimize congestion, renovation of ED waiting areas, mandatory sexual orientation courses to improve employee communication skills, and authorized emergency care physicians to issue sick leave to prevent unnecessary ED returns.
The hospital's ED transformation program has led to significant improvements. Patient satisfaction rose from 74.5% (Q1 2023) to 88.5% (Q4 2023); Mysterious Visitor scores increased from 82% (Q1 2023) to 93.87% (Q4 2023); door-to-door time improved, and by October 2024, 90% of emergency room patients received treatment within four hours, compared with 70.4% in January 2023.
These initiatives not only improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, but also establish hospitals as a leader in Saudi Arabia's medical innovation and service excellence.
The Asian Healthcare Awards redefines hospitals of excellence in the region through its innovative solutions and substantial contributions to the community that redefine the industry’s standards of excellence.
The Asian Healthcare Award is presented by Healthcare Asia Magazine. To view the full list of winners, click here. If you want to join the 2026 Awards Ceremony and are praised for your organization's outstanding initiatives and contributions to the healthcare industry, please contact JulieAnne Nuñez [email protected].
