It was alleged the hospital performed a surgical procedure outside its operation theater on the wrong person.

A senior health official from the Ministry of Health told Arab News yesterday the ministry took such medical blunders made by health providers in both the public and private sectors extremely seriously.

“Stern action will be taken against such medical errors in the interest of patients,” he said.

It was reported health officials at the hospital performed the surgery after a mix-up between two patients who had the same name.

Surgeries performed outside the operation theater subject patients to all kinds of infection.

He said the hospital has been referred to the judicial medical authority in accordance with local health regulations.

The official said the ministry treats private sector hospitals as strategic partners in providing necessary health care to both citizens and residents.

He warned the ministry will not tolerate blunders by any medical institution.

“Punitive actions will be taken against medical institutions that make such mistakes,” the official said.

Last month, a private hospital in Dammam was closed for 15 days after it committed a series of medical mistakes. According to the Health Ministry, the temporary closure was imposed due to its keenness on looking after the welfare and safety of the patients in the Kingdom. The closure was also aimed at encouraging remedial measures in the hospital and to maintain legitimate medical institutions in the Eastern Province.

Recently, the ministry closed a private medical center in the capital for alleged professional mistakes. The ministry discovered several mistakes made by the center in its cosmetic surgery section. As well as the death of a woman following a cosmetic surgical procedure, the ministry found the administration of the medical center had violated the Kingdom's labor laws.

Some medics and paramedics working in the center had also been working for the public sector, the ministry said. The center located in the north of Riyadh has several affiliates in the city. The ministry also banned all one-day surgeries in these facilities.