Jeddah Health Affairs Management said Tuesday it has shut down the operations theater of a private hospital following a complaint by the relative of a patient, without specifying the exact nature of the complaint. According to Dr. Sami Badawood, Director General of Health Affairs, the closure came after a committee from the Medical Licensing Department investigated the complaint by spending two days examining the medical work procedures used in the theater. “The committee discovered that the condition of the theater was inadequate for conducting surgery. Therefore, all scheduled operations have been suspended until further notice,” Dr. Badawood said. He added that emergency surgeries were excluded from the decision. Dr. Badawood pointed out that the hospital was ordered to post a sign that explained that operations are temporarily not being conducted in the theater. “The hospital can refer cases that do not require urgent surgical intervention to other hospitals,” he said. Dr. Badawood had earlier issued directives to the Medical Licensing Department to conduct continuous evaluations of all operations theaters and nurseries in hospitals in the city to ensure that they are applying the required medical procedures. He also demanded that violating departments in any medical center be immediately closed.
