Minister of Health issues a decision to regulate surgical procedures and medical interventions in the public and private sectors - Sarmad

(KUNA) – Minister of Health Dr. Ahmed Al-Awadi issued a ministerial decision today, Monday, to regulate the performance of surgical operations and medical interventions in both the public and private sectors. The Ministry of Health stated in a press release that the decision mandated licensing of health facilities according to their classification, adherence to approved standards for healthcare quality, infection control, and anesthesia safety, and the regulation of physicians’ professional privileges and competencies, as well as oversight, follow-up, documentation, and post-operative care mechanisms.

It added that the decision assigned departmental councils the authority to grant and approve privileges for performing surgical operations and medical interventions, classifying approved procedures for each specialty based on job titles, licensing qualifications, specialization, experience, and the nature of the procedure.

The decision enhances the supervisory and regulatory role of the Deputy Minister of Health, stipulating the approval of procedure classifications and the conditions, controls, and standards submitted by departmental councils. Each council must submit its list of classified surgical procedures for its specialty to the Deputy Minister within three months of the decision’s publication for approval.

The decision empowers the Deputy Minister or his authorized delegate, according to the administrative hierarchy, to temporarily suspend the privilege to perform operations or medical interventions when medical necessity dictates, as well as to review requests concerning overlapping competencies among different medical specialties within three months of the decision’s publication.

The Ministry noted that the decision emphasized the necessity of linking surgical operations and medical interventions to the physician’s specialty, license, and approved professional privileges. It stipulated that elective scheduled operations must be approved by a physician at the specialist level or higher.

The decision reinforces patients’ rights by obligating the attending physician or a designated member of the medical team at the specified professional level to obtain informed consent from the patient or their legal representative before performing any operation or medical intervention, and to document it in the medical file. It also requires disclosing the identity of the medical team performing the procedure to the patient, and prohibits delegating the procedure to another physician without the patient’s or their representative’s consent, provided the substitute physician holds the necessary qualifications.

The Ministry stated that the decision permits physicians working in the public sector, within the scope of their license and specified controls, to perform surgical operations and medical interventions in other government hospitals when necessary, after obtaining the required approvals. It also requires that the host hospital be prepared and that a qualified medical team be available to manage potential complications.

Furthermore, the decision authorizes, in emergency or critical cases aimed at preserving the patient’s life or preventing serious harm, surgeons employed by the Ministry of Health to provide surgical care in private health facilities, in accordance with the approvals and procedures outlined in the decision.