MP Seeks Tougher Rules for Visiting Surgeons
A proposal before Parliament would stop visiting doctors from operating unless a licensed local consultant is on hand and bar them from flying out until the patient is stable or placed in another specialist’s care.
MP Mohammed Janahi said the plan would cover surgery and other delicate procedures carried out in private hospitals and clinics.
Under the proposal, a Bahrain-based consultant from the same field, or a closely linked branch of medicine, would have to take charge of the patient’s care.
That doctor would monitor the case, work with the medical team and stay responsible until treatment was complete and the patient’s condition stabilized.
Visiting doctors would also have to remain in Bahrain after an operation while doctors checked for early problems.
They could leave only after the patient was stable or the case had been handed to another consultant able to step in immediately.
Private hospitals and clinics would also have to keep a consultant from the same field on call around the clock for patients treated by visiting doctors.
Janahi said the rule would cut the risk of patients being left without the right specialist after surgery.
It would also stop delays in care when problems arise after a visiting doctor has left Bahrain.
He said the plan was not meant to curb the use of overseas doctors or deny patients access to their skills.
Its aim, he said, was to clarify who is in charge of each case and ensure care does not end when the operation is over.
Janahi added that the rise of Bahrain’s private health sector necessitates firmer rules, especially in the hours and days after surgery when a patient’s condition can change fast.
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