18 private clinics closed for violations

The Health Ministry has closed down 16 private medical clinics in the Riyadh region and two in Jeddah for violating several ministry rules.
According to a report issued by the Health Affairs Department in Riyadh, the clinics lacked necessary medical equipment, did not follow regulations related to dumping medical waste and appointed unlicensed staff. The department said it would allow the clinics to reopen only after they take action to rectify their mistakes.
One clinic was closed for six months and a cosmetic surgery clinic for two years.
Saad Al-Qahtani, spokesman of the department, said its officials would continue their inspection tours to find violations.
He said: “We have clear instructions from Adnan Al-Abdul Kareem, director general of the department, that the clinics should not be allowed to reopen and receive patients until they have corrected their mistakes.”
In Jeddah, two clinics were closed down temporarily after officials from the ministry’s medical licenses department discovered they had violated the ministry rules.
Sami Badawood, Jeddah’s health director, approved the closure on the basis of a report presented by a special panel.
Badawood said one of the two Jeddah clinics was found to be operating with unlicensed doctors and its gynecology section was run by a general physician.
In addition, a technician was running the radiology section as they lacked a radiologist.
The other clinic was shut down because its license had expired two years ago along with the fact that it was licensed as a general polyclinic but was found operating as a dental clinic.
Badawood added: “The temporary closure of clinics will continue until the owners tackle the violations and pay the fines.”