HAIL, 27 April 2004 — A medical mistake caused the death of a 64-year-old patient at King Khaled Hospital in Hail, Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday. The patient was suffering from kidney failure.
The doctor, says the report, made a mistake in treating the patient, causing him to bleed to death without intervention from medical staff.
Abdul Rahman, son of the victim, said his father was undergoing dialysis regularly. On the day he died, the doctor decided to perform the dialysis in a way other than it was normally undertaken, resulting in internal bleeding.
The doctor sent the patient back home where the bleeding increased. When he was brought back to the hospital, the bleeding had reached such a dangerous level that doctors could do nothing to stop it or to save the patient.
“One of the doctors told me that the way the doctor did the dialysis was strange and medically wrong,” Abdul Rahman said.
Dawood, the patient’s other son, said, “My father had to submit to the doctor’s decision trusting in his medical knowledge. He was responsible for the death of my father and I want the Ministry of Health to punish this doctor and stop the farce that is happening at the hospital.”
Al-Madinah tried to contact the hospital, but the manager was vacationing outside the Kingdom. When tried to contact, the Health Affairs in Hail did not respond.
