230 disabled men airlifted to Tabuk

Two jumbo jets airlifted 230 disabled men from an institution in Madinah to a new rehabilitation center in Tabuk after the death of nine patients in the last few months, reported Al-Watan Arabic daily.
The move was conducted under the order of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah after an investigation revealed the nine men died as a result of negligence on the part of the institution’s management and staff, inadequate monitoring systems and violent incidents between patients and staff. The patients who died in Madinah had previously been transferred from Takuk.
The Director of the Madinah institution, Khaled Al-Zoghaibi, has since been removed from his position.
One disabled man died after swallowing a glove, which was left lying around the dining hall. He was rushed to hospital but efforts to revive him failed and he died from suffocation.
Six patients were reported to have died from chronic diseases. One man died after he snicked out of a building and fell into a sewage tank and another died as a result of a fall from a bridge on the King Abdullah ring road.
The shifting of the inamtes was conducted in two stages with the first group of 105 men airlifted on Nov. 29. More than 40 relatives and a team of doctors and administrators accompanied them.
The second group of 124 men was successfully airlifted Tuesday. The move means most of the patients are now lodged closer to their families.
Asaad Abu Hashim, director of the rehabilitation center in Tabuk that received the disabled men, said: “We have renovated the rehabilitation home in Tabuk.” Renovations took three months and the work was carried out on the recommendation of rehabilitation specialists.
“The center is now equipped with all the necessary facilities for treating people with disabilities,” Abu Hashim said. “We are also providing financial assistance, nursing care and drivers.”