His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, has approved the policies and procedures plan of the national accreditation standards that has been put forward to improve health services at all primary health care centers. Thereby, the whole standards are to be applied gradually to all centers in the Kingdom’s regions and governorates. This comes as part of Dr. Al-Rabeeah's endeavors to promote the level of health services, in such a manner that achieves the aspirations of the rulers, May Allah protect them, and meets the needs of patients and visitors as well as gaining their satisfaction.
Within the same vein, the Director General of Health Centers and Programs at the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Essam bin Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, has pointed out that the assistant directors general of health affairs for public health all over the Kingdom’s regions and governorates have been given instructions to order the directors of primary health care centers to adopt the policies and procedures of the national accreditation standards at all primary health centers (totaling 2259 centers), pursuant to the rules and regulations applied in all departments, services and programs of health care centers.
Dr. Al-Ghamdi went on adding that those policies and procedures include quality management and patient safety, leadership and workforce, health records, information management, patients’ rights and their families, public clinics, maternal and pediatric health, immunizations, oral and dental health, communicable diseases, non-communicable diseases, elderly care, radiology services, referral, health promotion and awareness, pharmaceutical services, environmental health and community participation, laboratory services, infection control and prevention and facility management and safety, in addition to the emergency services.
It is worth mentioning that the Primary Health Care Centers Accreditation Program is currently applied on 100 health centers all over the Kingdom’s regions. All of such centers seek the accreditation of the Central Board of Accreditation for Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI).