RIYADH, 17 December 2002 — The Shoura Council recently discussed a bill on mandatory insurance for doctors working in the government and private sectors against medical errors for which the doctors would be liable to pay damages to the victims.
The comprehensive bill aims to overhaul the medical profession including dental medicine and pharmaceuticals. However, some members disagreed with a clause, which stipulates that the public right on such errors would be dropped after the passage of a year from the incident, as ambiguous and aimed at protecting private hospitals. The members demanded that this period should not be different from the time limit applicable in other areas where damages are demanded.
The members also objected to a clause, which authorizes the health minister to stop temporarily the practice of a doctor against whom charges are made. The members wanted a maximum period of suspension to be specified.
The members who opposed the bill argued that it would only encourage the negligence of doctors while treating patients in addition to increasing the burden of the government treasury by indirectly encouraging more foreign doctors to come in.
On the other hand, the bill’s supporters pointed out that it aimed to protect the rights of the workers in the field and expedite the settlement of compensation to victims. The bill also provides for the hospitals to collect the sum paid as damages from the doctors who commit professional mistakes.
Customs system OK'd: The Shoura yesterday approved the unified GCC customs system. Dr. Hamoud Al-Badr, secretary-general of the council, said the unified system which is composed of 17 chapters, includes 179 articles pertaining to customs problems. Dr. Badr said the draft of the system will be submitted to Custodian of the two Holy Mosques King Fahd for approval.
Meanwhile, the Shoura resumed discussions yesterday on the report submitted by its educational and scientific research committee on the evaluation of the Kingdom's educational system.
