The head of the anesthesiology department at a hospital in Dammam has reportedly fled the Kingdom to avoid arrest for forging his degree certificates.

Informed sources at the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Dammam said that the hospital administration has proof that the doctor in question falsified his qualifications.

The doctor managed to give the hospital the slip due to a delay in reporting the forgery to authorities, according to sources.

Prior to his appointment as head of the anesthesiology department at the hospital, the doctor had previously worked in a number of the country’s leading hospitals, including the Eye Hospital in Alkhobar.

The hospital administration uncovered the forgery when it applied to join an international accreditation standards organization, which required the hospital to verify the certificates of all doctors working in the establishment.

It is not clear how the doctor managed to flee the Kingdom and whether he was tipped off by an insider. The hospital has remained silent about the issue.

Meanwhile, the general directorate of health affairs has issued a brief statement on the incident after news regarding the forgery was made public.

The statement read: “In reference to what has been circulating on some social networking sites regarding the forged university degrees of one of the in-house doctors at the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Dammam, the news has been confirmed. Upon corresponding with Zagazig University in Egypt, the aforementioned hospital found out that the doctor’s certificates were falsified. The doctor was suspended from work and the case referred to the authorities for further procedures.”