The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties has confirmed that it shut down 158 private health institutions that train nurses and technicians due to their poor quality of services.

As a result, only two private health institutes are left operating in the Kingdom.

Abdullah Al-Rahian, the commission’s director of public relations and media, told an Arabic daily that the commission has been seeking to improve the quality of their services, since it was mandated with the responsibility in 2006.

The commission has issued continuous warnings and has imposed temporary closure notices on institutes that have not complied with quality standards, he added.

He pointed out that sanction regulations have been applied on health institutes that do not abide by regulations.

He stressed the fact that health institutes fall under the Ministry of Higher Education’s supervision.

Al-Rahian explained that committees from the Ministry of Health were formed to study the condition of private health institutes and have submitted their reports to the higher authorities. He noted that health institutes had been notified two years ago of the issues that needed to be addressed and improved.

However, many of the institutes have ignored the warnings and as a result the commission took the decision to close down the violating institutes.

Around 25,000 graduates from the Kingdom’s health institutes have been appointed across different sectors. In addition, the Ministry of Health has appointed 9,000 graduates, while about 14,000 graduates were appointed by royal decree.