Ethics and Ethical Standards for Nurses and Midwives in Saudi Arabia

At a glance

The concerns this course addresses

How to respond to a complaint about this kind of concern

A complaint or a request for a statement can feel personal, but it is a request for a clear account of one event and of what has changed since. These steps keep that account factual and complete.

1. Get advice and note the deadlines

   Tell your nurse manager, then speak to your facility's legal or quality office or a legal adviser. Write down any date in the notice and ask early if you need more time. Notices are usually served through your employer, so keep your contact details current.

   In the course: Section 10 explains how complaints and claims reach you and what follows.

2. Read the record and the rule

   Ask for access to the chart, orders and policy before you write. Then identify the article, Code chapter, scope statement or MOH guideline that applied, and read it in full rather than in summary.

   In the course: Sections 2 to 8 set out each standard with its source.

3. Say what the underlying question was

   Was it your category against a request, a patient's choice against a relative's wishes, privacy against curiosity, or speed against a safety check? Naming it shows you understand why the rule exists.

   In the course: Section 3 gives the principles and the method for setting this out.

4. Write a time-ordered statement

   Describe what you did, saw and said, with times, and mark what you recall separately from what you read in the record. Acknowledge the effect on the patient, and avoid blaming colleagues or calling the unit chaos.

   In the course: Section 10 covers writing your statement.

5. Show change with evidence

   List specific changes with start dates and the way each is checked, such as a revised handover sheet, an audit of your entries or notes from supervision.

   In the course: Section 11 helps you build an action plan with deadlines.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Before you reply to your facility, MOH, a panel or a committee, speak to your manager and a legal adviser.

How this course helps with a complaint or investigation

• It ties each duty to its source

  Many statements say a nurse now understands consent. Fewer name the article, say what it requires and explain why it exists. The course trains that link so your reflection reads as understanding.

• It gives you methods you can show

  The five-question scope test and the six-step problem method produce short written reasoning. Using them on later shifts shows how your decisions have changed.

• It structures your reflection

  The final section moves from what happened to what changed, with prompts on scope, consent, confidentiality, medicines, records and speaking up.

• It matches the learning to the cause

  A knowledge gap needs learning, a staffing problem needs a concern raised in writing, and a habit needs a changed routine. The course helps you tell them apart.

Remediation evidence that carries weight

A remediation plan, phase by phase

1. Weeks 1-2

   Advice, facts and the right standard

   • Tell your nurse manager and take advice; note every deadline in writing.
   • Write a private chronology from the chart, orders and incident report, not from memory alone.
   • Find the article, Code chapter, scope statement or policy that applied and read it in full.

2. Weeks 2-6

   Understand and reflect

   • Complete this course and list the sections that match the event.
   • Run the event through the scope test or the six-step method in writing.
   • Draft your reflection and ask an adviser or senior colleague to read it.

3. Weeks 6-12

   Change practice and show it

   • Introduce the specific change, such as a written SBAR handover or a second-nurse check for insulin.
   • Arrange regular case discussion with a nurse educator or senior colleague.
   • Keep anonymised examples of the change in use.

4. Months 3-12

   Sustain and review

   • Add a measurable ethics goal to your CPD plan.
   • Ask for a quarterly audit of a sample of your records or consent forms.
   • Revisit your action plan at three and six months and note what has worked.

Writing your reflective statement

1. Describe the event

   Describe the events, the timing, the part you played and how it ended, taking care that nobody can be identified.

   Example only: As a staff nurse on a surgical ward in Dammam, I photographed a draining wound on my own phone and posted it in the ward group chat to ask about dressings; the patient's wristband was in the frame.

2. Name the principles in tension

   Explain which principles were in conflict, and how you balanced them when the decision was made.

   Example only: I valued getting quick advice for the patient and gave no weight to his privacy or his right to decide who saw his body.

3. Identify the standard

   Identify the relevant article, guideline or Code chapter, and give the reason it was written.

   Example only: Article 21, Regulation 3-5, the Code's rule on patient images and the PDPL treat the photograph as protected information that needed his written consent and facility approval.

4. Acknowledge the impact

   Describe the effect on the patient, the family, colleagues and trust in the service.

   Example only: The patient's son saw the image on a colleague's phone and complained, and the ward lost trust that its chat was a safe place.

5. Explain what you learned

   Note any gaps in your knowledge, or any practice you had let lapse, and describe how your understanding shifted.

   Example only: I had treated the group chat as an extension of the team. I now see that a personal phone and a cloud backup put his data outside any control.

6. Describe the changes and how you keep them

   List the specific changes, when they began and how they are checked.

   Example only: Since April I use only my hospital's secure messaging for clinical images, I deleted old images, and my educator checks my phone practice at each quarterly review.

The example sentences are fictional and show structure only. Your reflection has to be your own honest account.

A weak and a strong response, side by side

Illustrative case. A nurse specialist on a surgical ward in Madinah charts two-hourly repositioning for an elderly patient for the whole night shift at 21:00, before the turns happen. The ward is short-staffed, two turns are missed and the patient develops a pressure injury. The family complains and the manager asks for her account.

Why the second one works: The strong account says what was done, names the standards, accepts the effect and describes checked changes, including a staffing concern raised through a proper route. The weak account defends the practice by pointing to others, blames the family and offers only a promise, which suggests the same chart could be written again.

Mistakes practitioners make when responding

The rules this course works through

References are to the Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions and its Executive Regulations, the SCFHS Code, the 2023 scope document and MOH policy, as covered in the course.

• Arts. 8-9

  Emergency care and working within your specialty

  Emergency care must not wait for payment, and practitioners must not work outside their specialty except in emergencies. The exception covers only what protects the patient until the right person arrives.

  In the course: Section 2 sets this beside the five-question scope test.

• Art. 19

  Consent

  No intervention without the consent of the patient, or of a guardian if the patient lacks capacity. Under Reg. 1-19 a capable adult, male or female, consents personally.

  In the course: Section 4 covers witnessing, understanding and refusal.

• Art. 21

  Confidentiality

  Information learned in practice is confidential, and the file is open to the treating team, the patient and authorised bodies. Disclosure is allowed only on the grounds the Law lists.

  In the course: Section 5 sets this beside the PDPL and everyday ward risks.

• Art. 5 and Reg. 3-5

  Dignity and photography

  Act for the benefit of both the individual and society, while honouring life, safety and dignity. Photographing or publishing procedures needs written consent and facility approval.

  In the course: Sections 5 and 6 apply this to phones, filming and intimate care.

• Arts. 14-15

  Reports and records

  Diagnose with due care, issue reports and certificates according to the regulations, and never produce false reports or sick leave.

  In the course: Section 8 covers corrections, late entries and honest records.

• Art. 40 and Reg. 1-40

  Claims and investigations

  A harmed person may file a claim; the investigation should finish within 30 days, extendable once by 30. A travel bar of 30 plus 30 days is possible and can be objected to.

  In the course: Section 10 walks through the process and your statement.

Also relevant: Art. 7 on keeping knowledge current; Art. 11 on reporting suspected crime-related injuries and infectious diseases; Art. 12 on commissions and company benefits; Art. 18 on explaining the condition and risks; SCFHS Code Ch. 4 (colleagues), Ch. 5 (yourself) and Ch. 8 (teaching on patients).

How this applies in each nursing and midwifery setting

What happens after a complaint is made

A concern about a nurse or midwife can start with the facility, with 937 or as a formal claim, and the route depends on whether harm is alleged. The stages below follow the Law and its Executive Regulations.

1. Complaint

   A patient or family complains to the facility or through the MOH 937 service, which records and follows up complaints about matters under MOH responsibility. On the digital portal the patient logs in with their national ID and confirms through Nafath.

2. Facility review

   Many concerns about dignity, consent or communication are first looked at by the facility, which may ask for your account and the record. Facility procedures vary, so ask for the policy that applies to you.

3. Formal claim and investigation

   A person harmed, or their guardian or heirs, may file a claim with the facility or the regional health affairs director. The investigator takes your statement and a committee prepares a report, which the Law expects within 30 days, extendable once by 30. You may be barred from travel for 30 days, extendable by 30, and may object.

4. Referral or dismissal

   If the evidence is insufficient, dismissal can be recommended. Otherwise the case goes to the Sharia Health Panel if it involves compensation, death or loss of an organ or its function, or to the Committee for Violations of the Law for other breaches.

5. Hearing and notices

   The Sharia Health Panel is chaired by a judge with physician and legal members, and the public prosecutor represents the public right. Notices are served through your employer, and electronic notices and hearings are allowed.

6. Appeal

   Decisions of the Panel and the Committee can be appealed to the Board of Grievances within 60 days of notification. A ministerial suspension can be appealed within 30 days.

Possible outcomes and what they mean for you

The penalties below are those stated in the Law. Which, if any, applies depends on the facts, and no course can predict or decide it.

If you have been asked to complete education

Using this course as CPD

Key terms explained

SCFHS

The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties: the body that sets your professional category, keeps the register and publishes the Code of Ethics.

Mumaris Plus

The SCFHS online portal where you check your category, registration dates and CPD hours, and apply for re-registration or recognition of hours.

Nurse or midwife technician

A practitioner classified by SCFHS from a diploma of at least three years and its assessment, who works within a plan of care.

Nurse or midwife specialist

A practitioner classified from a bachelor's degree or equivalent, who leads the plan of care, delegates and supervises.

Privileged activity

A task marked 'if privileged' in the scope document, such as bedside ultrasound for a midwife, which needs a facility decision based on assessed competence.

Awrah

The parts of the body that should be covered; the Code allows exposure only for necessary diagnosis or treatment, and only as far as needed.

937

The MOH service centre and digital portal that records complaints about health services and follows them up.

Sharia Health Panel

A panel led by a judge, which considers claims for compensation as well as cases where a patient has died or lost an organ or its function.

Board of Grievances

A court of administrative law where decisions made by panels and committees, and suspensions imposed by the minister, can be challenged on appeal.

How this course is written and kept current

Page updated 2 November 2026

Our editorial standardsAbout usDisclaimer

Primary sources

The laws, codes and pages this page and the course rely on. Always check the current text with the issuing body.

1. Law of Practicing Healthcare Professions (MOH English text)moh.gov.sa
2. Executive Regulations of the Law (MOH, Arabic)moh.gov.sa
3. SCFHS Code of Ethics for Healthcare Practitionersscfhs.org.sa
4. SCFHS Scope of Nursing and Midwifery Practice in Saudi Arabia (2023)scfhs.org.sa
5. MOH Saudi Guidelines for Informed Consent (2019)moh.gov.sa
6. SCFHS re-registration requirementsscfhs.org.sa
7. SCFHS Mumaris Plus FAQscfhs.org.sa
8. MOH patient rightsmoh.gov.sa
9. MOH 937 services (my.gov.sa)my.gov.sa
10. SFDA guidance on reporting adverse drug events (2022)sfda.gov.sa