MADINAH, 24 August 2006 — The hospital responsible for the death of a woman who was given the wrong blood type in a routine blood transfusion following a Caesarian section risks being closed down, according to Abdul Fattah Othman, acting manager of the health affairs in Madinah.

Al-Madinah newspaper reported yesterday that the committee responsible for investigating the alleged medical mistake would soon submit its findings to the Madinah governor. The committee has already found the Safa Al-Madinah private hospital negligent in the death of Najat Balahmar.

According to the allegations, an unlicensed lab technician failed to verify the blood type clearly marked on a bag with the patient’s medical report, which stated her correct blood type.

The woman was transferred to a public hospital after allegedly going into shock following the mistake.

Sheikh Saleh Al-Samhan, a judge at a Madinah court, has received three charges against the hospital stemming from the incident.

The investigating committee also revealed other instances of alleged malpractice at the hospital.

Fahd Al-Mutairi, the husband of a woman who allegedly suffered from a procedure at the hospital that left behind a towel in her abdomen, told the newspaper that the hospital has not compensated him for the mistake.

Al-Mutairi said his wife, who also had a caesarian section, had to be re-admitted 20 days after the procedure complaining of abdominal pains.

“The doctors from that hospital forgot a towel inside my wife from the C-Section,” he said. “I filed a lawsuit against the hospital, and the court ruled against the hospital and asked it to compensate me SR58,000 and levied a SR1,000-fine against each doctor that did the operation. I have not received one riyal from them.”

Hanan Al-Rihaily, a teacher, also claims that the hospital had to call in a specialist from another hospital while her caesarian section was being performed. She says the doctors ripped her bladder during the operation.

“The Cesarean section cost SR10,000, but they reduced the price for my husband to SR2,000 because he was sure that they made a horrible mistake,” she said. “They also forbade me from going to the public labor hospital to get a report about my case.”

Al-Rihaily claims that the hospital faked a report to hide the incident for the record.

In Najat Balahmar’s case, an unlicensed Asian expatriate lab technician who has fled from his job at the hospital allegedly performed the fatal blood transfusion. Authorities are still looking for the man.

Earlier this week the hospital issued a denial that the technician was unlicensed.