The Board of Grievances is to hear Tuesday a case brought by four nurses against the Ministry of Civil Service and the Commission for Health Specialties for refusing to recognize qualifications they obtained from a private medical college. The nurses - Eida Al-Mowallad, Tahani Areeshi, Sabah Muhammad and Fatima Edrees - say they obtained “Private Hospital Health Assistant” diplomas from a private medical college, and that the ministry would not recognize the certificates due to the title, instructing them instead to seek employment in the private sector. The nurses added that this was despite all four of them having passed the Commission for Health Specialties test required for employment in the public sector and obtaining their permits to practice. The nurses have further accused all three parties – the medical college, ministry, and the Commission for Health Specialties – of stalling for time, with the college having previously requested more time to conduct inquiries, the commission seeking dismissal of the case and rejecting a change of the diploma title, and the ministry standing by its position that the diploma only qualifies the nurses for employment as health assistants at private hospitals and not at government facilities. The nurses are requesting through court action that the ministry recognize their qualifications and that the commission amend the diploma title to “Health Assistants,” omitting the reference to work in private hospitals. Sources at the Board of Grievances described the ministry's stand as “unjustified”, and noted that work qualifications are the same for both private and government hospitals.
