MADINAH, 7 June 2005 — The director of health affairs in Madinah, Dr. Sahal Salama, has warned that any doctor found guilty of neglect would face punishment. He said this when referring to the case of a six-year-old girl who died in a city hospital allegedly as a result of neglect.
A committee formed to investigate the girl’s death found that she had blood poisoning. The actual cause of death was established as blood poisoning with the hospital confirming it only five days after the death.
The doctor who had examined the child gave her antibiotics and discharged her from hospital saying she was not suffering from any serious problems.
Dr. Abdul Majeed Al-Najjar, the hospital manager, said the child’s first medical report was that she had a tonsil infection and did not need to spend the night in hospital. After her discharge, the girl became sicker and though she was taken to another hospital, it was too late and she died.
Hussein Al-Shareef, the child’s uncle, said the late admission by the hospital about the cause of death was pointless. He said it made no difference whether it was bacteria or virus which caused her death but the hospital was guilty of neglect. He called for the doctor who discharged her from hospital to be punished.
