New hospital admission and discharge rules have been approved by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeah, Minister of Health, which includes empowering male and female patients over the age of 18 to sign themselves in and out of government hospitals. If they are not mentally and physically able to do so, then their guardians or parents must sign these documents. Patients over 18 are also now able to sign consent letters for the admission, treatment and discharge of their immediate minor relatives. Fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters as defined by the law are allowed to give the go-ahead for the admission and discharge of children below the legal age. To determine power of attorney or legal proxy, signatories have to produce an official and valid document showing their relationship with the minor patient. The rules make it mandatory for women, who want their fallopian tubes “tied” (a sterilization procedure) or their uteruses surgically removed, to get the consent of their husbands or guardians, in addition to their own consent. __
