First unit for patients’ rights set up at KAU

Layan Damanhouri JEDDAH — In a first in the Kingdom, the medical faculty of King Abdulaziz University has established a unit for health empowerment and patients’ rights. A new module of health empowerment and patients’ legal rights was also implemented as part of the faculty’s curriculum, aiming to empower society and health practitioners with the knowledge about their rights and laws laid down by the Ministry of Health. The empowerment is meant to give power to individuals or groups, increasing capacity to make choices and transforming choices into actions. The unit was initiated by obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Samia Al-Amoudi, who also heads the Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi Center of Excellence in breast cancer. Knowing rights is expected to result in decreasing clinical errors and empowering doctors to identify laws and regulations according to international standards, according to Dr. Al-Amoudi. She added that assessing the extent of empowerment will enable greater identification of women’s health problems and improving women’s health. “This is a first step and we aim to spread awareness among all medical colleges in the Kingdom,” said Dr. Al-Amoudi. “It’s time to recognize that health rights are basic human rights, and there is a lack of knowledge among health care providers in Saudi Arabia. There is a misconception that the Saudi government treats women as minors and deprives them of their health rights. It’s important to understand that Saudi Arabia supports rights and an international treaty was ratified in 2000 on The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) provided it is within the context of Shariah law and health rights are enshrined in the Saudi Basic Law issued in 1412 AH in Article 8.” Failure to know the rights could lead to morbidity and even mortalities, she says. “It deprives patients of the right of choice and for women it is important to recognize that by Shariah law and by rules and regulations of Ministry of health they have the right to give consent for their own health issues and medical procedures. Women don’t need their male guardian’s approval before surgery.” They could also be subjected to malpractice and denied access to care facilities. As a breast cancer survivor herself, Dr. Al-Amoudi argues most cancer patients still don’t know about their health rights. Confidentiality and the right to know the diagnosis are still not applied in clinics. “Women are the ones who should be informed and not the guardians,” she says. Other rights include knowing the impact of cancer on their fertility and the available options before they are subjected to surgery or chemotherapy, she added. “Another important area is work rights. Unfortunately, nothing is stated clearly about these rights.” Dr. Al-Amoudi also recently published her book “Empowering Girls” aiming to spread awareness in a closed and conservative society. She said, “I believe that girls and new generation is the key to change, and empowering one girl could change the whole world. Therefore it is time to focus on our girls and give them the tools to be empowered. This will have impact on social and economic and health justice.”