RIYADH, 23 December 2006 — A Pakistani man and his Indian wife say that Al-Salama public hospital in Riyadh has refused to give them their baby until they pay their bill.
“The hospital refuses to give the baby without the full settlement of the bill,” said Tahir Akram Mohammed, the 35-year-old Pakistani father of Shan, who was born prematurely on Nov. 14 but is now healthy enough to be discharged. “I am a driver who works for SR1,200 ($320) a month. I am simply unable to pay such a huge bill.”
When Tahir’s wife Rehana was released, the hospital bill was SR5,940 ($1,584), of which the husband paid SR4,540 ($1,211). Shan remained at the hospital for further treatment. By the time the couple came to the hospital to pick up their child on Dec. 10, the bill had shot up to SR10,732 ($2,862) plus the remainder of the first bill, equivalent to over 10 months’ worth of Tahir’s salary.
Futhermore, Tahir fears that the hospital is also charging him for the time they are holding the child for nonpayment. He says that the hospital is only allowing them to visit the child for a half-hour at 8 p.m. every day so the mother can breast-feed.
“Even a layman knows that the baby has to grow with regular feeding by the mother. But the medical staff does not allow us to be with the child because of the financial problem that has created a wedge between the baby and the parents.”
Arab News made several attempts to get a response from Al-Salama hospital, even holding this story for an extra day in the hope that the hospital representative we were told to speak to, Saud Al-Harbi, would answer his phone or return calls. The hospital’s duty manager who answered refused to provide his name after he was informed of the nature of the inquiry. When Arab News called back to that number to ask why Al-Harbi was not available, there was no answer. A Jeddah-based lawyer, Alshareef Mohammed Al-Abdali, pointed out that the law forbids hospitals from holding newborns to ransom for nonpayment of bills.
“What the hospital is doing is clearly against the law,” said Al-Abdali, adding that there are legal ways for hospitals to seek payment, and this isn’t one of them. He speculated that the hospital is attempting to exploit foreigners’ ignorance of Saudi law and that the couple should immediately file an official complaint with the Health Ministry, and even the Royal Court.
Suhaila Hammad, a member of the National Society for Human Rights, said there should be more stringent law enforcement on this issue.
“The law is clear but we need it to be sufficiently implemented,” she said, adding that her organization is taking up this case.
Tahir described a Catch-22 situation when he sought the help of the Pakistani Embassy in Riyadh. He said he was turned away because his wife is an Indian national, “and when my wife went to the Indian mission seeking relief, she was refused help because she is married to a Pakistani.”
Tahir has worked in the Kingdom as a driver for six years and married Rehana, a distant relative, from Hyderabad, India.
“We got married last year and this is our first child,” said Tahir. “My wife is in tears over this and my home is a hell right now.”
Tahir had a request to the Indian and Pakistani missions: “Please set our nationalities aside and treat us like ordinary human beings and help us be with our newborn child.”
The father also provided his mobile number hoping that a generous person might help in the predicament: 056-424-1357.
