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(MENAFN - Arab News) Saudis and expatriates have welcomed the Ministry of Health's decision to close down a private hospital in Dammam for 15 days for having committed professional mistakes.

The ministry did not identify the hospital. However, Arab News readers identified it as Tadawi General Hospital in the city's Mazroueia district. A visit to the hospital on Wednesday by the newspaper's photographer confirmed this. A Ministry of Health note specifying the 15-day closure was pasted on all three entrances to the hospital.

According to sources in the Health Ministry, the decision to close the hospital temporarily stemmed from the ministry's keenness to ensure the safety and welfare of Saudis and expatriates.

The closure is aimed at encouraging the hospital to take remedial measures, the sources said, adding the decision was based solely on maintaining high health care standards in the Kingdom.

The ministry's decision was welcomed by members of the Saudi and expatriate community.

Journalist Hasan Al-Harthy described it as a step in the right direction. "We need such bold actions because some private hospitals have been making money at the expense of our health," he told Arab News. "They are playing with our lives and they need to be stopped."

He said some hospitals have become purely commercial ventures and money-spinners. "They look at everything in terms of profit, and in such a situation the health of the citizens and expatriates is always the casualty," he said. "Whoever commits such a mistake should be penalized."

"This reinforces our trust in the Ministry of Health," said Indian expatriate Shuja Mohammed Sheriff. "This will act as a deterrent and will compel all hospitals to meet mandatory safety regulations."

Sheriff said he was reassured by the regular checks conducted by the Health Ministry. "There has to be some of kind of accountability, and what the ministry is essentially underlining is that patient safety should come first," he said. "Private hospitals should not be allowed to cut corners and I, therefore, welcome and applaud the Health Ministry."

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Saudis, expats welcome decision to close erring hospital