RIYADH: The Executive Director General of King Khaled Eye Hospital has said that the theft of SR11 million by a member of its staff was uncovered by the hospital before officials from the General Auditing Bureau. Abdulillah Al-Tuwaiqri told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the hospital had noticed on Feb. 8 discrepancies in the hospital's salaries bank account and that a committee from the Ministry of Health was subsequently set up to investigate. “The member of staff responsible for the theft was reported to the police so that the appropriate measures could be taken by the authorities responsible for such cases, and the General Auditing Bureau only recently informed its officials when they were at the hospital,” Al-Tuwaiqri said. He said the hospital halted salary payments to the company tasked with updating and operating the hospital's computer system after failures on the company's part were brought to light by an information technology consultancy firm from outside the hospital tasked with evaluating its progress. “Investigation committees were first formed in August 2009 and they discovered discrepancies in the number of lenses in that year,” he said. “They uncovered a difference between the number of lenses brought in the number of lenses used, and the hospital's internal monitors and auditors concluded that the discrepancy was due to a lack of precision procedures in monitoring between the relevant departments.” Al-Tuwaiqri added that the hospital's process of Saudization had seen 173 members of staff leave their posts in the last three years and the appointment of 249 Saudis.
