The Ministry of Health (MOH) has announced a decision to modify the working hours of health care centers throughout the Kingdom's regions, to be from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, everyday from Sunday to Thursday. The decision comes in response to the questionnaire conducted by the Ministry, and included about 25.000 citizens and workers in these centers, as well as the beneficiaries of their services who were called directly by phones or e-questionnaire for collecting information. This step comes within the framework of the MOH’s keenness to provide comprehensive health services that meet the health needs and demands of citizens, meanwhile achieving the public interest. It also come in line with the directives of the Minister of Health, Mr. Ahmed bin Aqeel Al-Khateeb, and with MOH’s endeavors to develop the services provided by primary healthcare centers.
The MOH has circulated an urgent circular to all health affairs directorates in regions and provinces, to bring the new modification into effect starting from Shaban 1st 1436H, and to take the necessary measures to adopt this regulatory mechanism and adhere to it.
The said circular also made it obligatory to complete working hours of practitioners covered by MOH's Health Job Regulations (with the exception of Saudi consultant physicians), as per the relevant law, to be assigned to work in the duty centers or emergency units in the hospitals according to the requirements, available resources and the monthly required duties from the workers; such that the working hours shall not exceed 208 hours monthly, as the law stipulates. As for the on-duty healthcare centers or the ambulatory centers deployed on roads, they have to continue working as per the current shift according to the potentials available in each region or province and within the required working hours and duty hours, as the law stipulates, and the availability of health centers prepared for emergency and manpower necessary for its functioning. The work of these centers is limited to providing emergency and therapeutic services for severe emergency cases, and that working hours for the Saudi consultant physicians will be 176 hours per month. In addition, they will be on-call for a maximum period of 10 days a month, to handle any urgent matters. Meanwhile, the other practitioners not enrolled in MOH's Health Job Regulations will work for 155 hours a month and as per the current system, with the exception of the categories linked to the medical staff to be granted an allowance for any extra time, as the law stipulates including (health statistics technicians, clerks, office boys, guards, ambulance drivers, health servants.)
This measure reflects the MOH's keenness to meet the needs of the beneficiaries of the services provided by health centers and its employees, besides achieving their demands in line with their social circumstances and in a manner which serves the public interest.