JEDDAH: Egypt’s decision to stop granting work permits to doctors wishing to work in Saudi Arabia does not cover Saudi government hospitals or pharmacies, a source at the Egyptian Consulate in Jeddah said yesterday.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source told Arab News that the decision also exempts Egyptian doctors currently under contract at public or private hospitals.
Egyptian Minister of Manpower and Migration Aisha Abdul Hadi issued the decision after a court in Jeddah convicted two Egyptian doctors on charges of violating regulations related to prescription drugs. The two men were found guilty in September of turning a Saudi woman, the wife of one of the men’s employer, into a morphine addict.
Dr. Rauf Al-Arabi, who works at Al-Salam Hospital in Jeddah, was sentenced to seven years in prison and 1,500 lashes; his jail sentence was increased to 15 years on appeal. Dr. Shawki Abd Rabbo, who works for Al-Ansar Hospital in Jeddah, was given a 20-year prison term and 1,500 lashes. Al-Arabi was found guilty of supplying the controlled and highly addictive substance to Abd Rabbo, who passed the drug to the woman.
The Egyptian ministry has released a list of 26 Saudi private hospitals, clinics and medical companies to which Egyptian medical manpower will not be recruited. They included 12 in Jeddah, nine in Riyadh, four in Abha and one each in Madinah and Khamis Mushayt. It said move came after the ministry received many complaints regarding breaches of work contracts.
Dr. Saleh Qanbar, chairman of the Medical Affair Committee of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described the Egyptian minister’s decision as “hasty.” He said many other countries are ready to supply health care workers to the Kingdom.
