RIYADH, 17 September 2006 — A three-day international conference on patient safety and medical errors opened yesterday at the King Faisal Conference Hall here with delegates from all parts of the world attending.
On behalf of Interior Minister Prince Naif, Health Minister Dr. Hamad Al-Manie inaugurated the conference, dubbed the International Summit for Patient Safety and Medical Errors, where the formation of a National Registry for Medical Errors in the Kingdom will be announced.
Eleven international speakers will address delegates on topics related to patient safety, fostering safe medical practices, management in patient safety and the need for national patient safety standards. Three workshops will be held during the summit.
“Patient safety and prevention against medical errors are top priorities of the Ministry of Health,” Al-Manie said.
Last year, some 900 cases of medical malpractice were reported in the Kingdom and 43 percent of them were found to be medical errors. “The aim of the conference is to improve patient safety and prevent medical errors,” said Dr. Sulaiman Assuhaimi, deputy director of the Security Forces Hospital. He pointed out that one out of 10 patients gets affected by medical mistakes.
