The Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah on Tuesday closed down the surgery section of a private hospital because of alleged poor safety standards that led to the death of a Saudi woman. The directorate took the decision after studying a report from a committee investigating the incident. Health affairs director Dr. Sami Ba Dawood said the Medical Licenses and Pharmacy Department closed the operations section after a complaint was lodged by the family of the patient. For the safety of patients, the decision includes scheduled surgeries which are not urgent. The hospital has to place a sign at a salient location announcing that operations have been halted. “A committee is now following up the matter and ensuring that patients who need operations that are not urgent get their treatment or get transferred to other hospitals,” he said. A source said that the woman, in her 30s, died at another hospital. This was after she had been moved to this hospital after suffering complications from nasal sinus surgery at the private hospital. The source said the investigation committee, which is now reviewing the hospital's surgery procedures, the Intensive Care section and the nurseries, recommended the closure of operation rooms because they allegedly do not meet basic medical standards.
