The hospital was facing shortage of manpower and medical equipment and its owner had not responded positively to the observations of an inspection team sent by the ministry’s medical licensing department.
Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah has approved the hospital’s closure on the basis of a report presented by the licensing department after it had failed to provide proper health care according to set standards.
The woman died while she was undergoing a surgery at the maternity and children’s ward.
The health affairs department in Riyadh had asked the hospital to close the ward for not having specialists and necessary equipment to conduct surgeries.
The Ministry of Health announced yesterday that expatriates holding diplomas in various health disciplines would not be considered for local recruitment unless the local labor department confirms that there are no suitable Saudi personnel on the waiting list for such specialized jobs.
The 20 health regions in the Kingdom have been advised to adhere strictly to a directive issued by the health minister with regard to certifying relevant documents to recruit expatriates for the private sector.
A spokesman from the MOH said the step was taken to ensure local graduates are employed in the private health sector based on their specialization.
The directive comes as a follow-up step to a circular issued earlier by the Ministry of Health on the recruitment of foreign medical staff and technicians working in the private health sector who could only be supported in the absence of Saudi cadres registered with the Ministry of Civil Service.
The program said the directive is in line with an earlier program intended to encourage companies to nationalize jobs under the Nitaqat program that is being currently implemented by the Ministry of Labor.
The official said the MOH had conducted diploma degrees in various health disciplines for Saudi youths who have completed their secondary education. Recently, he said 90 such degree holders were absorbed into government service in various MoH institutions.
“The ministry announces the vacancies available within its departments at regular intervals four times a year,” the official said.
