Kuwait bars expats from morning treatment KUWAIT says barring foreigners from attending public hospitals in the mornings is aimed at resolving the problem of "overcrowding" at such health facilities. Since Sunday the health ministry in the oil-rich Gulf state began implementing the measure, described by activists as racist, at the public hospital in Jahra, west of Kuwait City, on experimental basis for six months. If successful, it will be expanded to other public hospitals as per a decision issued last month by Health Minister Mohammad al-Haifi, who is a well-known surgeon. Under the measure, foreign residents will be able to receive treatment at the outpatient clinics of public hospitals in the evenings only. The measure "is intended to ease overcrowding at clinics" where the number of patients has been increasing rapidly, the interior ministry said in a statement sent to AFP. It cited the health minister as stressing that the ministry will continue to provide "the best health care for citizens and expatriates," adding that hospitals will provide all other medical services and emergencies to all citizens and residents at all times. The minister also said that a new 1,100-bed hospital under construction will be completed in the near future to solve the overcrowding problem.