Dr. Zainab Abu Rezaiza, Head of the Committee for Investigation and Follow-up at Makkah's General Directorate of Health Affairs, has said that harsher penalties need to be brought in to punish persons responsible for medical errors. “The current disciplinary system needs to be reviewed because it is too lenient,” Dr. Abu Rezaiza said. “The health sector differs from other sectors as it deals with people's lives, so penalties should be stiffer to deter negligence.” The Committee for Investigation and Follow-Up is tasked with looking into patient complaints and the performance of healthcare center medical staff, and was set up, according to Abu Rezaiza, in response to “the increase in numbers of complaints and failures in the work performance of medical staff”. “The committee is the nucleus for improvement in health services through its stringent following up of work in healthcare centers to ensure that medical staff adhere to working hours and dress codes,” she said. “The committee also questions medical staff on the quality of services.” According to the doctor, the committee makes spot checks on healthcare centers which may result in staff being summoned for questioning and a confidential report being sent to higher authorities for action to be taken. “The ministry disciplinary rules give a warning for the first offense, and a deduction from pay for a repetition, and eventually termination of the employee's contract,” Abu Rezaiza said. “Disciplinary action is taken without favoritism and irrespective of the individual at fault.” Why the poor standards of professionalism, and why the increase in errors? According to Dr. Abu Rezaiza, it's down to bad training. “Medical teaching and training institutions are to blame for the poor performance of some staff,” she said. “Training should not be limited to academic subjects, but medical staff also require serious training in how to interact with patients and the public. Nurses need to be trained in communication skills, particularly when handling patients.” Abu Rezaiza said that it had even been known abroad for medical institutes to enlist the help of flight attendants to train medical staff in “people skills”. Of the Investigation and Follow-Up Committee's successes, Abu Rezaiza said that it had helped in tackling some gender issues found at play in the health sector. “The segregation of genders at health centers has proven its practicality and ensured the privacy of women working there,” she said. “We have managed to change many perceptions on the part of both male and female nurses who would before claim that they were exempt from responsibility for certain duties.”
