Saudi Gazette report Al-BAHA — There are organized gangs abroad who charge medical doctors and consultants wishing to come to the Kingdom a lot of money to facilitate their entry into the country even though they might be carrying fake certificates, doctors in Saudi Arabia told Al-Madinah newspaper on Monday. They said though the Health Ministry was keen to examine and interview medical doctors in their home countries before offering contracts, some unqualified doctors with fake certificates were still able to make their way to the Kingdom. Some consultants accused the ministry's recruitment committees of favoring their own interests over those of patients. The doctors called to form the Health Ministry's medical recruitment committees to include specialist doctors and consultants in place of administrators. They said when the ministry discovers that the doctors it has contracted are not qualified enough, it does not take any action against them other than sending them to work in far away places and remote areas. The doctors asked the ministry to include in recruitment contracts an article stipulating that holders of forged certificates will be punished. A member of the Council of Senior Saudi Scholars said the forging of certificates was totally against Islam, while a Shoura Council member recalled that the council had asked the Saudi Medical Specialization Authority (SMSA) to contract a specialized company to recruit medical doctors, specialists and consultants. "This company was able to cut the number of fake doctors in the Kingdom. Only few individual cases remain," he said. Spokesman of the SMSA Abdullah Al-Zuhayan said the authority had succeeded in cutting the number of doctors holding fake certificates by about 98 percent. "This was done through a special division in the authority to authenticate the certificates and catch the forgers," he said. Majed Al-Amri, whose sister died from a medical mistake, said weak qualifications and a lack of sufficient experience would negatively affect the performance of doctors. He asked the ministries of health and labor to authenticate the certificates of doctors at the universities from which they graduated before allowing them to work in the Kingdom. "The amount of forged certificates is frightening. Something has to be done against this phenomenon," he said. Mohammed Ghurmallah, another Saudi citizen, questioned how so many fake doctors were able to enter the Kingdom and practice medicine. "The Health Ministry's field teams monitoring the performance of doctors are not doing a proper job," he said. He said he wondered how a fake doctor could practice medicine in a Saudi hospital for more than 10 years without being discovered. Mohammed Hamid, who lost his mother to a medical mistake, called for closely monitoring the performance of doctors, especially those who have made repeated mistakes. "There are a number of unqualified doctors, especially in remote areas and private hospitals, who should be closely watched," he said. Dr. Mubarak Al-Zahrani, head of internal medicine at King Fahd Hospital in Al-Baha, said the Health Ministry has made strenuous efforts to curb the number of fake doctors through constant evaluations undertaken by specialized companies. "A number of hospitals have contracted specialized companies to evaluate their doctors and follow up their performance," he said. Al-Zahrani said it was not unusual to discover some doctors who passed these rigorous tests lacking the sufficient experience to deal with patients. "Instead of canceling their contracts, the ministry sends them to work in remote areas," he said. Dr. Assad Al-Mutawa, director of a private hospital in Jeddah, said though the SMSA has done a good job by reducing the number of forged certificates, more could be done. He said: “The certificates of doctors should be thoroughly checked by the Saudi cultural attaches in their respective countries. “The solution to this phenomenon is to reinforce our local medical cadres so we do not need to rely on expatriate doctors.” Dr. Ali Bin Abbas Al-Hakami, member of the Council of Senior Saudi Scholars, said all types of forgery are totally against Islam. He recalled a hadith (prophetic teaching) that said whoever cheats Muslims is not one of them. He said the forging of certificates, especially in the medical field, could cause immense damage. Chairman of the Shoura Council's health and environment committee Dr. Mohsen Bin Ali Al-Hazmi said the council, after receiving a number of complaints about the weak performance of some expatriate doctors, had asked the SMSA to contract a specialized committee to verify the medical certificates of foreign doctors who come to work in the Kingdom. "The company was able to greatly reduce the number of forged certificates in the Kingdom," he said.
