The Ministry of Health (MOH) has intensified its inspection tours to ensure abidance by preventive measures against Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at health facilities. MOH inspection teams carried out more than 53,065 field oversight visits over the past eight months, in continuation of the fight against the virus, and to curb its spread.
The Ministry has declared that the field oversight visits focused on targeted sections and violations all over the regions of the Kingdom. In other words, the visits targeted MOH hospitals and primary health care centers, along with private health institutions to ensure compliance with health requirements. As a result, the number of violations by individuals in the private sector, the government sector and ports reached 4,764, 3,349 and 181 respectively. On the other hand, the total number of violating institutions reached 716, while the total violations of private health institutions reached 1,115.
In this respect, MOH has accentuated that the daily awareness oversight visits were intensified to enhance the level of commitment inside health institutions such as hospitals, complexes, pharmacies, etc. The visits also aimed at ensuring abidance by preventive and precautionary measures against the coronavirus, including mask wearing and physical distancing. Additionally, the visits monitored the application of both health requirements and the approved health practice mechanisms to manage such crisis, as well as the provision of necessary requirements for patient safety.
Within the same framework, the Ministry has noted that the missions of its oversight team, supervised by the Compliance Assistant Agency, were expanded. It is worth mentioning that such missions include control over health quarantines all over the regions of the Kingdom, in parallel with intensification of oversight visits to MOH public hospitals to ensure compliance with health requirements.
MOH has also explained that such oversight visits were in parallel with similar visits to health institutions in the private sector. In addition, it has pointed out that compliance supervisors implemented hundreds of daily visits to pharmacies to ensure commitment. Visits to pharmacies also aimed to check the availability and monitor the prices of masks, personal protective equipment (PPE) and basic health products, in cooperation with relevant authorities.
MOH has added that 64 closures were implemented. Most of such closures took the precautionary form until violations were cleared. In other words, a large number of such institutions were enabled to resume activity after correction and statutory fines in an effort to prevent future repetition.
In conclusion, MOH has called upon health care providers and health practitioners to adhere to the health requirements stipulated in health regulations, and stick to the preventive procedures and measures applied in the Kingdom. This aims to protect the health and safety of patients and avoid statutory penalties. It is worth mentioning that the penalties amount to a fine of 300,000 SR, closure of the institution, withdrawal of the license of both the institution and health practitioner, and a ban for up to two years.