828 govt health workers have bogus certificates

Some 828 fake certificates were recently uncovered among health practitioners in government hospitals and clinics, local media said, quoting a report released by the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS).
Meanwhile, some 929 forgery cases have been discovered in the private health sector since the verification of health practitioners’ qualifications was made mandatory four years ago, the report said.
According to the SCFHS report, from the total number of cases in the government health sector, the nursing department topped the list for forgeries at 523 cases, followed by lab test technicians (60), X-ray (47) and anesthesia technicians (37).
Private health facilities registered 397 forgery cases in the nursing department, 348 in pharmacy, 100 cases in the lab test department and 84 cases among X-ray technicians, the report said.
The SCFHS database of cases of fake certificates and qualifications of health practitioners, who have been banned from practicing the profession, is the biggest of its kind in the region and being shared with other Gulf Cooperation Council countries since last year, the report said.