MoH closes three private health institutions, 18 temporarily

The Ministry of Health (MoH), represented by the Administrative and Technical Violations Committee in the Directorate General of Private Health Establishments (DGPHE), has permanently closed three private health institutions. An additional 18 have been shut temporarily.

Clinical privileges were withdrawn from several medical staff, and licences of two private specialised health facilities were suspended, MoH stated in a press release.

Additionally, the ministry issued warnings to 66 private health institutions. Thirty-four were warned for advertising in social media without permission.

Dr Muhana bin Nasser al Maslahi, director general of DGPHE, informed that MoH is adopting all the statutory measures, including precautionary closure of health institutions that do not comply with the quality standards required for health services.

He added that the private health sector is one of the main pillars of the health system in the sultanate, providing primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare.

According to Dr Maslahi, there are more than 1,600 clinics, health centres, polyclinics and hospitals in the private health sector that employ 10,684 workers.

“In cooperation with the public sector, the directorate is streamlining licensing procedures for various health institution categories and workers within the national licensing portal for different sectors.”

The directorate, he informed, has also observed some administrative and financial violations related to licensing controls in 75 private health institutions. The violations include licensing and clinical privileges irregularities.

A deadline has been set for the noncompliant institutions. If irregularities are not corrected within the deadline, the cases will be referred to the administrative and technical violations committees.