Al-Rabeeah was speaking at a round-table conference with Justice Minister Mohammed Al-Eissa and Culture and Information Minister Abdulaziz Khoja at the King Faisal Conference Hall.
The public discussion, called “Medical Errors and the Mechanism to Deal with Them”, was sponsored by the Ministry of Health to clear up misunderstandings about medical practice in the Kingdom.
More than 300 people including doctors, academics and senior government officials attended.
According to figures published in 2008, there were 1,356 complaints about medical errors and 650 cases resolved.
The minister pointed out that the phenomenon of medical errors is a global issue and people in the Kingdom are concerned.
“It is our duty not only to prevent such misdeeds but to be transparent and keep the public informed of all the developments in the field.”
The new scheme, which aims to detect errors before they are committed, has already been implemented in 30 leading hospitals and will cover another 60 in the Kingdom.
Citing a report from the Saudi Arabian Cooperative Insurance Company, the minister said the number of those applying for insurance cover against medical errors has increased over the past five years due to increased awareness among medical practitioners. Hospitals have their own system to prevent medical errors, Al-Rabeeah said. He said that his ministry has a scheme to withdraw the licenses of offenders and impose penalties, whilst also allowing them to appeal.
There are 18 Judicial Medical Councils in the Kingdom to hear cases involving medical errors.
Khoja said the media have an important role to play since it is expected to report such stories accurately.
“Some of the foreign TV channels give a distorted version of stories that could mislead the public.”
The ministry, he said, will develop a program to have more control over the electronic and print media to avoid the publication of news that could jeopardize the interests of medical practitioners, patients and their relatives.
Al-Eissa said that a system of heavy penalties and appropriate compensation has been developed in line with Shariah for cases involving medical errors.
He also said committees comprising representatives from the ministries of interior, commerce and industry and justice have been established in all parts of the Kingdom to examine such cases.
A set of recommendations was finalized at the two-hour conference. They include a request to the Ministry of Health to intensify its programs to prevent medical errors, to organize public awareness programs on the subject, to ensure the recruitment of qualified medical and paramedical staff for hospitals and clinics in the Kingdom and to offer counseling services for victims of medical malpractice.
