The Ministry of Health (MOH), with the participation of government agencies, has arrested medicine imposters and illegal health practitioners who violate professional duties and ethics, and they were referred to Public Prosecution to apply sanctions against them to ensure the safety of citizens and residents.
MOH stated that a person of Arab nationality was caught practicing cupping in a men’s barbershop in Al Qurayat, Al-Jouf Province without obtaining a license and without applying the necessary health requirements, which threatens the safety of patients and public health. The violator was referred to the Public Prosecution to finalize the legal procedures.
In another case, an alternative medicine imposter was caught examining and dispensing medications of unknown origin in an unsanitary environment at his home in Tabuk, which threatened the safety of patients and the public health of the community. He also works without obtaining a license from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). It is considered a violation of the Health Professions Practice Law, its executive regulations, and the (NCCAM).
The Ministry called for the necessity of adhering to the health requirements and regulations, and the preventive procedures and measures followed in the Kingdom. It also called on the public to request health services from licensed facilities and persons, and that displaying licenses in places where services are provided is a right of patients, and to stay away from those quacks and places not designated for providing health services. In this context, the regulations observe the rights of practitioners and the rights of patients and ensure the promotion of patient safety and the protection of practitioners and the medical profession. The regulations for practicing health professions affirmed the prohibition of practicing any health profession except after obtaining a license, the prohibition of examining patients in places other than those designated for that purpose, and the health practitioner is forbidden from advertising or promoting himself directly or by mediation.
It is worth noting that MOH conducts periodic monitoring and inspection tours and follows up on what is published on various social platforms to preserve the safety of patients, public health, and preserve the honor of the medical profession.