Any hospital declining to treat an emergency case will be subject to the maximum punishment by the law, said Hamad Al-Mane', Minister of Health. “Of late it has been noticed that managers of emergency rooms at government and private hospitals alike have turned away emergency cases in violation of clear cut instructions from the ministry to treat them,” he said. “The cases were denied treatment for ineligibility or non-payment despite urgency of cases, reflecting a bad image of health care services in the Kingdom,” Al-Mane' said. Earlier this week, two hospitals in Riyadh were fined SR200,000 for turning away critical cases at the emergency rooms.
