The Medical Licensing Department at Jeddah Health Affairs Management suspended Wednesday the license of a private hospital in Al-Salama District, and closed the hospital till further notice. The closure follows dispute over months of salary delay due to which doctors, nurses and technicians had stopped work. The hospital was unable to provide health services, as all its sections were paralyzed because of the refusal of the medical and para-medical staff to work. So we decided to close the hospital, said Dr. Mahmoud Abdul-Jawwad, Director of the Medical Licenses Department. He said that an investigation team visited the hospital and found that there were no inpatients. The team also detected a shortage of medicine in the pharmacy and found that the hospital lacked necessary medical equipment. Dr. Sami Badawood, Director General of Jeddah Health Affairs Management, stressed that the safety of patients was of prime importance and that all medical service providers should act in accordance with rules and regulations. The Health Affairs Management will impose suitable penalties on violators of rules and regulations, said Dr. Badawood.
