JEDDAH — The Ministry of Health reiterated that no private health institutions have the right to detain patients, newborns or dead bodies of patients who had been treated in the firm or keep their original identification papers in custody over the non-payment of medical bills. The ministry sources stressed that the health institutions must make the legal procedures to collect their financial dues through the official channels.

The ministry said this while citing the provisions of Article 30 of the Private Health Institutions Law and its executive regulations. According to the article, the private health institutions must immediately report to the nearest competent security authority and the Directorate of Health Affairs in the region in the event of any criminal incident or death that occurs to any outpatients or inpatients.

The private health institutions must also report about any criminal incident in which the injured resorted to seeking the service of ambulance or treatment, and that they must keep a complete record of traffic accidents and injuries.

Article 16 of the Private Health Institutions Law states that it is mandatory on the part of the private health institutions to provide emergency treatment for all serious emergency cases that come to them, without making any financial claims before the provision of treatment.

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