المملكة: 29 Conditions for licensing clinics and hospitals .. The “environment” causes the Veterinary Facilities Directory

The Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, through the “survey” platform, presented a project to update the guide of veterinary professions and facilities in the Kingdom, with the aim of organizing the practice of veterinary professions and improving the quality of services provided to livestock.
The new guide replaces the previous guide issued on July 2, 2023, and is considered a regulatory reference that clarifies the necessary technical and operational requirements. It also serves specialists and those interested in the field of veterinary medicine and provides an integrated framework for practicing the profession within or outside veterinary facilities.

3 main categories of veterinary facilities

The Ministry has adopted an updated classification of veterinary facilities that include 3 main categories: therapeutic facilities, diagnostic installations, and support facilities.
This classification aims to achieve integration between veterinary services and to determine roles and responsibilities for each type of installation.
Therapeutic facilities include clinics and veterinary hospitals, where licenses are granted to clinics to provide inspection, treatment, surgical operations, preventive care and birth of births, whether they are fixed or mobile facilities.
Fixed veterinary clinics include multiple categories, including primary, specialized and comprehensive clinics, in addition to specialized clinics in pets, poultry and hawks, and in return, mobile clinics with services in unstable locations provide the needs of different regions.
As for veterinary hospitals, they are dedicated to advanced cases, and allows a wide range of services that include inspection, surgeries and artificial insemination, in addition to accommodating animals under veterinary monitoring for specific periods, and hospitals are divided into comprehensive and other animal hospitals such as camels, horses, pets and birds.

Advanced veterinary laboratories

Within the framework of diagnostic facilities, the Ministry has defined the quality of veterinary laboratories that play a fundamental role in supporting therapeutic and preventive procedures. Veterinary laboratories are licensed to conduct laboratory analyzes on various animal factions, products, waste and associated feed.
These facilities include fixed laboratories operating in specific locations, and mobile laboratories equipped with all laboratory equipment to provide service in the field, provided that they are linked to a licensed fixed laboratory.
The classification includes veterinary laboratories attached to livestock projects or existing veterinary facilities, and operates within an integrated system for examination and diagnosis.

An integrated support structure to serve the veterinary system

The classification also includes the supportive veterinary facilities that provide supportive and integrated services to the sector. This category includes basic facilities such as veterinary quarries, which are concerned with the stone of imported or local animals according to technical directives, and licensed veterinary pharmacies that sell retail veterinary preparations within specific controls.
These facilities include artificial insemination and embryos transport centers, which provide genetic improvement and genital care services, as well as animal supplies warehouses that are concerned with storing tools for animal feeding and accommodation.
The veterinary consulting offices that provide specialized scientific advice also include animal care shops that provide non -medical services such as care and hygiene.
In this category, animal training centers are included in the performance of security, rescue, hunting, offers and racing tasks, as well as horses that provide places for rest, training and specialized care, as well as hawks and prey centers that provide specialized medical and food care.

Strong controls for licensing and organization

The new guide obligated the veterinary facilities for a number of regulatory requirements that guarantee the quality of services and technical compliance.
The requirements included the identification of the owner and the manager responsible for each facility, obtaining the approval of the competent authorities before the license, and committing to immediate reporting within 24 hours when suspected of any contagious or epidemic disease, and the evidence required providing the competent authority with medical reports on suspected conditions.
The Ministry forbade the sale of animals or veterinary preparations in clinics and hospitals, with the exception of the officially licensed cases within a veterinary pharmacy or an initial care center.
The requirements included the need for veterinary crews to adhere to the official dress, not to send any samples abroad or conduct experiments without the approval of the ministry, and stressed the need to display licenses in a prominent place, and apply the same provisions to the branches of private facilities.

Fact standing standards for facilities

The Ministry has set accurate construction conditions that must be met in the buildings of veterinary facilities, including that the facility be outside the residential areas and on a commercial street, and at least 50 meters from the nearest school or mosque.
The buildings are required to be equipped with appropriate ventilation and lighting, and are equipped with water and sewage sources, and that they contain security, safety and combating fire equipment.
The evidence for the necessity of providing refrigerators to save medicines according to specific temperatures, and allocate waiting places for visitors, service facilities, and guidelines that explain the sections and appointments.
The facility is committed to documenting all data in records that include reviews of the auditors, pathological conditions, fortifications, the use of antibiotics, dead animals, and laboratory results, and the Ministry may amend or update any of these requirements as it deems appropriate.

A clear mechanism for licensing and periodic renewal

The ministry confirmed that the license for any private veterinary facility is only done after completing all the required conditions and obtaining regular approvals from the competent authorities.
The license is granted for a period of two years, renewable, with the need to apply for renewal before the end of the period for a period of not less than 60 days.

Detailed requirements for veterinary pharmacies

The guide specified the requirements for the location and building of the veterinary pharmacy, among them to be on the ground floor and on a public street, and the area is not less than 25 square meters, with appropriate ventilation, and a cooling system that does not exceed 24 degrees Celsius throughout the day. He also obligated pharmacies to provide special refrigerators to preserve vaccines, tight and narcotic drugs, in addition to the tools of prevention, protection and safety.
It is required that the pharmacy interface be clear and bears its name in Arabic, with the possibility of translating it in English.
Any curative or surgical operations of animals inside the pharmacy are prohibited, and any non -registered or unknown drugs or drugs are prohibited.

Prepared services in primary veterinary clinics

Initial veterinary clinics are allowed to provide a large group of services for small jumpsuit animals and pets, and include detection, treatment and prevention services, quick laboratory tests, small and major operations, radiology tests, stone, hypnosis and follow -up services, in addition to hotel and physical therapy services, dental care, training, and health rehabilitation.
These clinics are equipped with complete facilities that include operating rooms, refrigerators licensed to save heat -sensitive medications, insulation rooms, animal housing places, fire extinguishing tools, as well as analytical laboratories, rooms for medical crews, feed and supplies warehouses.