Under the chairmanship of His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, the Chairperson of the Council of Health Services (CHS), the Council held its sixtieth meeting on Monday, April 16th, 2012, at the Council's Headquarters. During the meeting, participants discussed a number of the issues which had been studied and analyzed by the specialized committees, as well as the Council's Preparatory Committee.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Secretary-General of the Council, Dr. Yaqoub bin Youssef Al-Mazrou' pointed out that the Council agreed to evaluate health practitioners (both consultants or specialists) whose performance after promotion does not live up to the required level, due to paying little attention (or no attention at all) to developing their hands-on information. This evaluation is to be conducted by the competent committees, so as to determine their professional and vocational status.
Dr. Al-Mazrou' stated that participants, besides, have approved forming a committee of specialists representing the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, the National Guard Health Affairs, the Armed Forces Health Services, the Security Forces Hospital, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, the Research Center, the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, and the Saudi Food and Drug Authority. The committee is assigned to put forward the method for implementing the Royal Decree which mandates the submission of future health projects or purchasing specialized or sophisticated medical instruments and supplies to the Council of Health Services to study and approve them.
Dr. Al-Mazrou' also added that the Council approved forming a committee to study applying health insurance to Saudis, in implementation of the Royal Decree mandating the inclusion of the Kingdom's employees under the health insurance umbrella. Then, the whole issue is to be studied by the Ministry of Health, the Council of Health Services, and the Council of Cooperative Health Insurance.
The Secretary-General went on to say that the issue of ambulances affiliated to governmental authorities and private sector was discussed, highlighting the importance of organizing them and setting particular specifications and the minimum requisites of such vehicles. Also, the Saudi Red Crescent Authority took over the responsibility of preparing a memorandum and submitting it to the Council.
He also added that His Excellency the Chairman of the Council informed the attendees of the steps taken by the Ministry of Health regarding the “Provision of Plasma” project, which has been approved by the GCC Ministers of Health, as well as the Arab Ministers of Health, as one of the vital projects in the health field. The members of the Council commended the great effort which was exerted in providing such vital substance, which is considered a crucial step towards the protection of general health in the Kingdom and other Arab States.
The Secretary-General of the Council of Health Services, Dr. Yaqoub Al-Mazrou', concluded his statements by noting that the Council has embraced the put forward at the First Patient Relations Conference, which placed particular emphasis on patient care, given the fact that patients are the pivot of the entire health process. This was made clear, also, in the Kingdom's Health Care Strategy, approved by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. These recommendations are to be considered when it comes to preparing the Health Profession Ethics Program, as well as the Preservation of Patients' Rights, which is one of the strategic projects underway.