Ministry suspended 8 doctors, blacklisted 7

The number of medical establishments and doctors who received their licensing since 2010 is increasing enormously, according to statistics revealed by the medical licensing department at the Ministry of Health.

Dr Salem Al Darmaki, Acting Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health, stated that the ministry seeks to facilitate the registration of health establishments and licensing according to the set rules and regulations and guarantee the medical and health practices.

Based on the decision of the medical licensing committee for 2010, statistics also indicated that the health establishments which have been temporary closed blacklisted or warned show the reality of medical practices in the private sector. The medical licensing department continuously follows up 1,140 medical establishment and reassures their compliance to international health standards.

About 163 new establishments have been licensed in 2010 while 70 have been approved from the start of 2011 up to now. The number of approved private medical establishments was divided as follows: 19 specialised dental clinics, 73 public dental clinics, 92 specialised clinics, 104 public clinics, 94 school health clinics, 275 rehabilitation centers, 25 diagnosis centers, 435 medical centers, 25 hospitals with a total number of 1140 medical establishments under the supervision of the ministry of health. The medical licensing department supervises the work of these doctors and ensures their licensing enables them to maintain their medical profession efficiently.

Furthermore, Dr Amin Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Practices and Licensing and Head of the Medical Licensing Committee, emphasised that 2,305 doctors received the ministry's licensing of which 354 have been licensed in 2010 and 151 licensed from the beginning of 2011 till now. As for the technicians, about 781 technicians were licensed in 2010 while 359 licensed from 2011 till now. The number of technicians who carry the ministry's licensing is 2621.

Al Amiri added that the ministry adopts international health standards in medical and health licensing and makes regular visits to the medical establishments to ensure their commitment to the ministry's bylaws and regulations.

The medical licensing committee warned 11 medical establishments and closed 15 others due to their violations of the ministry's bylaws and the checkup of the department's supervisors. Penalties ranged between written warnings for one establishment, temporary closure for 11 and final closure for 4. In 2010, the committee also warned 7 doctors and suspended 15 doctors due to their medical malpractice.

Dr Al Amiri explained that 8 doctors were temporary suspended as a precautionary procedure or malpractice as per the patients' complaints. In addition, 7 other doctors were blacklisted due to their severe violations to the profession or scientific and technical standards.

"Based on the decision of the medical licensing committee for the year 2010, the violating doctors were suspended either because of their medical negligence and disbursing medical sick leaves for patients without checking their right to receive such leaves. Human medicine code of conduct requires doctors to be more accurate and honest rather than think of financial reward. The decision took into consideration the public welfare of the society and community members", he elaborated.

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