Khoja, director general of the Executive Board of the Health Ministers’ Council, said that the conference was arranged by the Ministry of Health (MOH) at a time when there is a pressing need for patients to know their rights when dealing with health services providers.
Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah inaugurated the two-day conference on Monday and stressed the Kingdom is keen on taking health care services to the doorstep of the patients and the forum would exchange ideas and share experiences in offering medical treatment to the patients and proper counseling to their families.
Nearly 1,000 delegates from the Kingdom and GCC countries took part in the event. The program was organized by the MOH and leading French business information company Naseba.
Speaking to Arab News on the sidelines of the conference, Khoja said: “Not only do the patients need treatment but their families need counseling since some of them undergo a period of trauma when they hear that their loved ones are afflicted with serious or terminal diseases.”
Khoja added that patients need adequate care during their treatment and even after they leave hospitals.
Dr. Abdulaziz Aldakhil, general director of the Patients Relations Program, said the program was highly successful and the response from the participants was unprecedented.
Aldakhil said the ministry would do its best to serve patients throughout the Kingdom and try to create a better rapport between patients and the doctors.
“We must be compassionate toward the patients and be respectful to them regardless of gender, religion, nationality, origin or physical or mental disability,” he said.
Explaining the rights of the patients, he said all data and records pertaining to patients should be kept confidential. He added that the patients have the right to review or obtain a copy of their medical records according to hospital policy and to have information explained as needed by a physician.
During his keynote address on Monday Al- Rabeeah said: “The Ministry of Health is proud to support this symposium, the first of its kind in the GCC region. We set up the Patient Relations department as a means of caring for Saudi citizens — as a link between those who give and those who receive health services. The Ministry of Health pays lots of attention to the safety of its patients and we need to listen to our citizens in order to provide the best health protection. In the end, nothing is more important than the health of our people.”
The summit was a networking and knowledge-sharing platform specifically tailored for the region, enabling attendees to discuss the most pressing challenges, opportunities and potential solutions for upcoming projects.
“The right to health is the right of every human being. Without this right, people can’t do their duty, and the development of Saudi Arabia cannot be achieved without it. Human beings and their welfare should be the objective of this development,” commented Dr. Zaid Al-Hussain, vice president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission.
In one of the day’s keynote address, Dr. Mohammed R. Alyemeni, adviser to the minister of health and general supervisor of ICT from the ministry, delivered a presentation about cohesive coexistence between health, information technology and patient relations.
“We are very proud to have assisted the MOH in its mission to make the Kingdom a leader in patient relations excellence — and a role model for the entire GCC. Naseba welcomes the opportunity to be a part of the Kingdom’s transformation into a more patient-centric health care system,” enthused Fabien Faure, Naseba’s health care series director.
