The Ministry of Health (MOH) has intensified its inspection tours to ensure the compliance of health institutions with infection prevention and control (IPC) measures. Over the first half of this year (2022), MOH’s compliance teams have conducted 300,703 field inspection tours; as part of MOH’s efforts to prevent COVID-19 and stop its spread.
MOH highlighted that its daily inspection and awareness tours are meant to enhance the level of commitment inside health institutions, such as hospitals, medical complexes, pharmacies, etc. The tours also aim at ensuring their compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures (including mask-wearing and physical distancing), in addition to the application of both health requirements and the approved health practice mechanisms to manage such pandemic and provide necessary requirements for patient safety.
“During the tours, 6,626 penalties have been issued against health institutions, including 729 hospitals, 2,310 medical complexes, 2,754 pharmacies, and 833 other health institutions. Also, 74 closure decisions have been issued against health institutions until violations are corrected, including four hospitals, 43 medical complexes, five pharmacies, and 22 other health institutions, while 1,273 penalties have been issued against health practitioners. Besides, the teams have recorded 29,914 precautionary measures violations, including 2,961 against individuals and 26,953 violations against health institutions”, stated MOH.
Hence, MOH has called upon healthcare providers and health practitioners to comply with health laws and regulations, in addition to precautionary measures adopted by in the Kingdom; to maintain patient health and safety, and to avoid fines of up SR 300,000, facility closure, as well as withdrawing license of the institution and health practitioner for a period of up to two years.
It is noted that MOH aims to enhance self-monitoring in health institutions by enabling them to assess their level of commitment to health standards through electronic self-assessment program. The institution is given a correction deadline, and will not be penalized if it voluntarily discloses a failure to meet a certain health standard, but with immediate suspension of its practice or activity that poses a risk to patient safety. On the other hand, the institution will lose its correction period opportunity and will be penalized if it does not disclose such violations that are monitored by compliance teams during audit process on the evaluation form carried out by the institution.