KUWAIT CITY, July 24: MP Dr Maasouma Al-Mubarak has urged the Minister of Health, Dr Hilal Al-Sayer, to take disciplinary action against officials at the Overseas Treatment Department who violated the Constitution by issuing decisions to sponsor patients without the proper approval of concerned committees and the Higher Medical Committee, reports Al-Qabas daily.
Dr Al-Mubarak cited a story the daily had published about ongoing investigations by the ministry’s Legal Affairs Department, covering certain irregularities detected at the Overseas Treatment Department. The officials allegedly played with official documents by inserting the signatures of two doctors retroactively to give credence to those documents.
Al-Mubarak is perturbed with the act, describing it as the highest level of corrupt practice, which she also considered as a dangerous trend in the country. She noted the situation demands thorough investigation to evaluate the performance of officials and sack those indicted, indicating the minister should not take the issue with levity or delay after the Health Office in London has confirmed the act.
Meanwhile, Assistant Undersecretary for Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Health (MoH) Abdulkareem Al-Jaafar said the ministry has not yet fully investigated violations related to Overseas Treatment Committee and some other transactions, reports Al-Anba daily.
Investigations are still going on; therefore, it is very early to say whether the accusations are true or not, he said, adding Minister Dr Hilal Al-Sayer and Undersecretary Dr Ibrahim Al-Abdulhadi are closely following-up the issue.
He further stressed that the ministry is not hiding any violations or information in this respect and “it will never hesitate in bringing the guilty to book, if it is proved that a violation took place.”