Dialysis center shut for poor hygienic conditions

The Health Ministry recently shut down a dialysis center in Riyadh after an inspection found inadequate hygienic measures at the facility.
Abdul Aziz bin Saeed, an official at the ministry’s Command and Control Center (CCC), said that the closure comes as part of the fight against the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus, (MERS- CoV), especially in light of the increase in infection rates because of the winter season.
“It is expected that the virus will be active in the coming months according to epidemiological studies that have been conducted over the past years,” Saeed said.
The sanctioned center has been given a correction period to comply with CCC requirements, so it can be allowed to offer services once again.
Stressing the importance of prevention, the Health Ministry recommended a number of measures to avoid infection, such as washing hands carefully with soap, avoiding contact with sick people or camels, refraining from touching the eyes and nose with hands. It is preferable to cough into a tissue or an arm, than to use the hands or cough in the air, read another recommendation from the ministry. For further information, the ministry has set up a fact sheet at their website www.moh.gov.sa.
After suspicions last year that a few cases of MERS infection had been spread via dialysis at two major government hospitals in Taif, the Ministry of Health took strict control measures in these units.
Saeed pointed out that the CCC is permanently surveying epidemic diseases and advancing prevention measures and monitoring the situation, so it can rapidly intervene to control any out breaks anywhere in the Kingdom.
“The CCC is continuing to enhance its ability to prevent diseases and to act against any health care facility that does not comply with the prescribed infection control measures in particular against MERS,” he said.
Last month, new Health Minister Mohammd Al-Hayazie moved CCC’s headquarters to the Health Ministry offices in Riyadh, while opening CCC branches at all health affairs departments throughout the Kingdom, to prevent the spread of infectious diseases.