The Ministry of Health (MOH) has intensified its inspection tours to ensure implementation of the preventive measures to combat infection in health institutions. In continuation of its efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19, MOH’s compliance teams have carried out 528,871 inspection field tours in 2021. 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 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 pandemic, as well as the provision of necessary requirements for patient safety.
MOH revealed that 7,347 penalties were imposed on the health institutions, including 617 on hospitals, 3,620 on medical complexes, 2,496 on pharmacies, and 547 penalties on other health institutions, as well as 67 on laboratories. Moreover, 192 closures were implemented against health institutions until the violations are corrected, including 21 hospitals, 107 medical complexes, 9 laboratories, 11 pharmacies and 44 other institutions. Also, 3,479 penalties were imposed on health professionals and 26,857 violations of the precautionary measures were reported.
It is to be noted that MOH aims to promote the concept of self-control at the health institutions by enabling them to evaluate the level of their commitment to the health standards through the electronic self-assessment program. The institution can obtain a corrective period and will not be penalized if voluntary discloses that a certain health standard is not met, with an immediate cessation of an activity that poses a risk to patient safety. The corrective period will be lost and a penalty imposed if the violations discovered by the compliance team were not disclosed by the institution.
MOH urged health care providers to adhere to the health requirements stipulated in the health regulations, alongside the preventive measures adopted in the Kingdom. This comes to preserve the safety of patients and avoid penalties that could amount to a fine of SAR 300,000, closure of the facility, and withdrawing the license of the health institution and practitioners for up to two years.