As part of the steps it has recently taken to promote patient safety and control irregular practices of the health professions, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced that it has agreed with the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution to carry out the investigation and prosecution powers of offenses that are punishable for varied prison terms in accordance with the Health Profession Practice Law. This comes in implementation of the Royal Decree provided for transferring specialties of the departments and committees pertaining to investigation and prosecution in criminal offenses to the Bureau.
The MOH official spokesman Mr. Meshal Al-Rubai’an explained that the ministry will start referring the violators directly to the Bureau of Investigation and Public Prosecution, the ones who commit a number of violations as provided by the law including, for an example, practicing health professions without having a license, providing untrue information, using one of the advertising means to make the public believe that he has the right to practice the health professions contrary to the truth, or impersonate one of the titles usually given to the practitioners of health professions, or keeping one of the health profession's tools or equipment without being licensed or having a legitimate reason to possess them, or involving in human organs trafficking.
Al-Rubai’an emphasized that the measures came to curb irregular practices which endangered patient safety when unlicensed practitioners (doctors, specialists, nurses) perform surgeries or other medical procedures without adherence to the governing measures, which include examinations and training that qualify the practitioner to get the license. In addition to practicing a specialty not classified by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialty (SCHS) such as performing obesity surgery by an unspecialized surgeon or cardiac catheterization operations by a general practitioner, or other cases in which a health practitioner gives treatment to a case that is not part of his specialty, for financial or scientific purposes.
The MOH confirmed to all health practitioners in the private and public sectors, the importance of applying the standards of patient safety, commitment to regulatory licenses, qualification from the SCHS, adherence to patients' health and achieving their safety, making it the focus of their interest, with a commitment to the professional ethics and the Health Profession Practice Law.
It is noteworthy that the MOH has established a new unit to enhance commitment to laws and professional ethics in the public and private sectors. During the last year, the ministry has visited 21,899 private health facilities, closed 908 facilities, including 3 hospitals, 358 clinics and complexes, 191 pharmacies and other 256 facilities. The decisions issued by the committee on the violation of the Health Profession Practice Law reached 1,251 decisions and the ones issued by the committee on the violation of the private health institutions law reached 1,532 decisions, including 95 hospitals, 594 clinics and complexes, 581 pharmacies and 262 other health facilities.