JEDDAH, 6 May 2006 — The Health Ministry has issued a new law with 14 articles to protect the rights of patients.
Hospitals and other health care institutions have been instructed to inform the public about these rights by displaying them in prominent places in their reception areas and waiting rooms. The ministry will publicize these rights through the media.
Khaled Mirghalani, a ministry spokesman, said the ministry had instructed all workers in the health sector to abide by the law without fail. It gives a patient the right to know the qualifications, name and contact number of his doctor and have a second opinion about his case.
Mirghalani claimed that the new law would bring about a revolution in health care in the country by improving the quality of services and reducing mistakes by doctors and paramedical staff.
The ministry had issued another law explaining the duties of health practitioners.
“All workers in the health sector have to strictly follow this law. Otherwise, they will face tough punishment,” the spokesman said.
A team of health care and legal experts prepared the law.
According to the new law, patients will have the right to receive full treatment and proper care from the service provider. They also have the right to know about the progress of treatment, results of medical tests and any complications that might arise.
The health care providers have to keep all information about their patients totally confidential.
The patients also have the right to know about alternative treatments and the cost of the treatment in advance, if possible.
Mirghalani announced the ministry’s plan to appoint 2,000 doctors specialized in family medicine at health centers across the country. He said a contract to establish 440 health centers would be signed in a few days.
The total number of health centers in the Kingdom will reach 2,000 by the end of this fiscal year, he pointed out. Last week a contract was signed to build 420 PHCs.
Mirghalani said primary health centers would focus on care of mothers and children. He also said that 19 hospitals have been licensed to provide cooperative health insurance services to expatriate workers.
The health insurance scheme would be applied on Saudis by next year, he added.
Referring to the ongoing campaign against dengue fever, the spokesman said some 800 health officials would be deployed starting Sunday to visit houses and schools in order to enhance public awareness about the disease.
He said the executive council of health directors, which met in Madinah recently, had discussed 15 hospital projects, with an estimated cost of SR822 million. They included King Fahd Hospital Tower in Jeddah, King Faisal Hospital Tower in Taif and Dammam Central Hospital Tower.
