RIYADH: As many as 43 private medical complexes were closed in the capital during the last two months for serious violations.

According to the head of the private health services in Riyadh region, Saleh Al-Zughaibi, the centers were closed by order of a decision by a specialized committee due to irregularities found there.

Al-Zughaibi said the violations included the presence of staff illegally hired as skin specialists and cosmetics technicians without possessing the license needed to practice the profession, and poor sterilization of implements. The decision covered four famous establishments practicing liposuction with unqualified staff, 38 optic shops, and 21 pharmacies lacking licenses.

He also said that his department had received 58 complaints about medical errors that are now under investigation by a specialist body, after which they will be submitted to the health authority, which will rule in the cases.

Al-Zughaibi stressed that anyone who operates in the private health sector without license or falsely assumes medical qualifications will be penalized — fined or even imprisoned — in accordance with the rules regulating the medical profession.

He called on patients, and citizens in general, to make sure they check the academic background and the professional record of the physician practicing in private health facilities, for their own safety. They have the right to ask for the practitioner’s license, which is normally granted by the Ministry of Health.