“Such a body will have a check on private institutions, such as the beauty salons and centers for burns and plastic surgery,” said Yacoub Al-Mazrou, secretary-general of the Health Services Council, on Wednesday following a meeting of the executive committee of the council held at the Health Ministry headquarters in Riyadh.

The deputy minister said a committee has been appointed to carry out the preparatory work for the formation of the authority. Expectations of the ministry include a provision that health parlors fulfill the criteria of the ministry, such as using proper equipment and using qualified health workers.

Al-Mazrou said the council also decided to ban the sale of soft drinks in all hospitals, clinics and government and private health facilities throughout the Kingdom.

The council is also working out a mechanism of creating a rapport with the Saudi Red Crescent Society and schools in the transport of injured persons.

The deputy minister said the council has shown immense concern over the increase of dental colleges in the private and public sectors.

“There is a need to hold practical and theoretical tests before the dental graduates are deployed in the local clinics,” said Al-Mazrou.

Meanwhile, the Kingdom joined other member nations of the World Health Organization to observe World Tuberculosis Day on Wednesday.

The international community has set a goal of universal access to the prevention and treatment of TB.

According to Annual Health Report of the Ministry of Health, 1,069 cases per every 100,000 people in Saudi Arabia tested positive for TB in 2008; 53 percent of them were Saudi citizens.