The Director General of the Forensic Medicine Centers at the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Khaled bin Muhammad Hassan Jaber, said that the Department aims at changing the working hours of the legitimate health authorities from the night shifts to the official morning shifts.
While launching yesterday (Tuesday) a symposium titled, (Affairs and Activities of the Legitimate Health Authorities... the Current Status and the Future Vision), Dr. Jaber said, "Through the continuous work, we will be able to see within a short time the legitimate health authorities moving to work under the supervision of the Ministry of the Justice with a continuous cooperation with the Ministry of Health," affirming the keenness of the officials at both ministries to make the legitimate health authorities benefit from the existing progress in the judicial sector.
He added that the activities of the legitimate health authorities have increased as a result of the expansion in the public and private health facilities in the Kingdom, the changes made in the medical practice, and the increased level of awareness and culture among the medical service receivers. He went on saying that the number of legitimate health authorities has increased to 22 basic and 22 auxiliary authorities, and that the number of the effective authorities has reached 39, including basic and auxiliary ones.
In a similar fashion, Dr. Jaber noted that the work papers of the symposium will address the efforts exerted by the ministries of health and justice to maintain health and safety of patients and their rights, in addition to reviewing the mechanism of dealing with the medical errors from a forensic perspective, the role undertaken by the legitimate health authorities to deal with the incoming cases from the different health sectors and how to develop the basics of work procedures and the desired organizing regulations hoped to be available, that is to be added to ways of supporting the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties to play a more effective role in the future.
Within the same vein, he added, "The symposium will discuss the experience of many Saudi judges and consultant physicians in the activities of legitimate health authorities, in addition to a personal experience of a Saudi consultant in dealing with legitimate health authorities. The symposium will witness the presentation of a research study on medical errors and the technique and method of work at the legitimate health authorities by tracking the course of a case referred to it; as well as the civil responsibility in the issues of medical errors, that is to be added to reviewing a brief on some issues out of the practice in these authorities."