RIYADH: The Health Ministry has contracted an international firm to verify certificates of expatriate doctors, pharmacists, paramedics, technicians and nurses employed in the Kingdom’s health sector.
Hussain Al-Firaihi, secretary-general of the Committee for Health Specializations, signed the contract with the international company in Riyadh on Saturday.
“In the past 10 years, we discovered 750 certificates held by expatriate medical personnel were forged,” said Al-Firaihi, adding that 500 certificates, suspected to be fake, were currently being scrutinized.
The committee has banned more than 10,400 doctors, paramedics, nurses and pharmacists from practicing in the Kingdom.
Al-Firaihi said he hopes that with the help of the international company, fraudulent certificates would be singled out in the future.
“This is within the ministry’s continued efforts to upgrade medical services in the Kingdom for both citizens and foreigners,” he added.
Under the contract, the company will verify certificates within 35 days; however, if the period were to extend to two months, the company would be paid half the fee.
Al-Firaihi also said some qualified doctors would enter the Kingdom on visas for other jobs and practice as doctors. “They have to correct their occupation in the passports before they accept such job offers,” he said.
Many cases of fatal medical mistakes have been reported in the local press.
Calls were recently made on the floor of the Shoura Council for the resignation of the health minister taking responsibility for the shortcomings in the health sector.
A Shoura Council member specifically cited the increasing number of medical mistakes and a shortage of medicines in government hospitals as reasons for his call for the minister’s resignation.
