Article 8 of the Saudi Mental Health Law

المادة 8 من نظام الرعاية الصحية النفسية

The Article regulates the local council's meetings every 15 days, its quorum and decisions, and requires it to answer grievances within 21 working days, failing which they may go to the General Council.

Official text (Arabic)

This article has not been amended since the law was issued.

أ - تكون اجتماعات المجلس مرة كل (خمسة عشر) يوماً، أو بدعوة من رئيسه عند الحاجة.

ب - يكون انعقاد المجلس نظاميًّا بحضور الرئيس أو نائبه وثلثي الأعضاء على الأقل.

جـ - يتخذ المجلس قراراته بأغلبية أعضائه الحاضرين، ويرجح الجانب الذي صوت معه رئيس الاجتماع إذا تساوت الأصوات.

د - يقدم المجلس تقريراً دوريًّا كل سنة عن أعماله إلى مجلس المراقبة العام للرعاية الصحية النفسية.

هـ - لا يجوز لرئيس المجلس، أو أي عضو من أعضائه؛ المشاركة أو المداولة في قرار يمس مريضاً له به صلة قرابة حتى الدرجة الرابعة.

و - تكون إجابة المجلس على التظلمات التي يقدمها المرضى أو ذووهم أو من يمثلهم خلال مدة لا تتجاوز (واحداً وعشرين) يوم عمل من تاريخ ورود التظلم، وإذا لم يبت في التظلم خلال تلك المدة؛ يجوز رفع التظلم إلى مجلس المراقبة العام للرعاية الصحية النفسية.

ز - إذا كان أحد أعضاء المجلس من الأطباء العاملين في المنشأة العلاجية النفسية المرفوع ضدهم التظلم، فيجب أن يندب لفحص المريض استشاري طب نفسي من غير العاملين في تلك المنشأة العلاجية النفسية، ويرفع الطبيب تقريراً إلى المجلس خلال أسبوعين من تاريخ تكليفه بذلك.

This is the official Arabic wording, the only legally binding version. We do not translate the law itself; the explanation below is ours. Official source: Bureau of Experts at the Council of Ministers

Article 8 explained in plain English

This Article sets the working rules of the local supervisory council, whose powers are set out in Article 7:

Meetings: once every 15 days, or at its chair's call when needed.
Quorum: the chair or his deputy attends with at least two thirds of the members.
Decisions: by a majority of the members present, and the side the chair of the meeting voted with prevails if votes are equal.
Annual report: the council submits a report every year on its work to the General Supervisory Council.
Conflict of interest: neither the chair nor any member takes part in a decision affecting a patient to whom he is related up to the fourth degree.

Time limit for answering grievances: the council answers the grievances of patients, their relatives or their representatives within a period not exceeding 21 working days of the date the grievance is received. If it has not decided within that period, the grievance may be taken to the General Supervisory Council.

Safeguard of impartiality in examination: if one of the council's members is a physician working at the facility the grievance is directed against, a psychiatry consultant who does not work there must be assigned to examine the patient, and he submits his report to the council within two weeks of being assigned.

What matters in practice to the patient and his family is that the 21-day period is counted in working days, not calendar days, and that the council's silence after it opens the way to the General Council.

If you have a specific case, it is best to consult a lawyer who specializes in health regulations and patients' rights.

Practical example

A father in Jeddah filed a grievance with the local supervisory council against his son's compulsory admission, and one of the council's members was a physician at the same hospital. A consultant from outside the hospital must therefore be assigned to examine the son. If 21 working days pass without a reply from the council, the father may take his grievance to the General Supervisory Council.

Translated from our Arabic explanation with machine assistance. For guidance only; it does not replace advice from a lawyer on your situation.

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