Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih

The Health Ministry has issued a stern warning to private hospitals not providing quality services for patients.

If they don’t improve performance, their names would be made public immediately, according to Health Minister Khalid Al-Falih.

Al-Falih said that self-regulation has not resulted in the transparency required from the private sector. There have to be the same quality standards applied at government and private facilities, he was quoted as saying by a local publication.

He said that the ministry would no longer give private facilities a grace period to sort out their problems. Erring facilities would be closed down immediately to protect patients, he said.

He said the Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI) — now that Cabinet has approved its organizational link with the ministry — would seek to ensure every hospital has the appropriate quality accreditation.

Al-Falih expressed these views on the sidelines of the Fifth National Conference for Quality Assurance in the health sector held in Riyadh this week. He revealed that the ministry would hold competitions on excellence in the health field.

He said that measures have been taken to transfer some health tasks from the Education Ministry to the Health Ministry. The minutes of the meetings were signed and approved with only some procedures and budgets left to be processed. The tasks would be transferred at the start of the next school year.

Some of these functions would include helping obese students who are in danger of developing diabetes and other illnesses.

“We hope the youth benefiting from these programs will transfer this knowledge to their homes and help other family members make healthy lifestyle changes,” said Al-Falih.

Related articles across the web

• No help from helplines
• Dengue crisis: Delhi Health Minister says private hospitals don't have enough ICU beds for the poor
• No Private Hospital in Haryana can Declare a Patient as Having Dengue: Minister Vij
• Private hospital beds for the poor
• SAUDI ARABIA - Hajj stampede: at least 717 dead, a thousand wounded in the worst incident in 25 years
• Saudi Minister Says MERS Cases Are Reducing Before Haj
• Demands for more enrolment for medical studies
• Scam adding $100 to your health costs
• Dengue crisis: Delhi government increases 795 beds in private hospitals
• MERS cases on decline in Saudi Arabia ahead of hajj