YANBU, 14 September 2007 — The Directorate of Health Affairs in Madinah announced yesterday that Fateema Al-Refaie, who is in a vegetative state following a suspected case of malpractice, is being transferred from the King Fahd Hospital in Madinah back to the Yanbu General Hospital, according to Adil Sharaf, spokesman of the directorate in Madinah.
The 33-year-old patient received an antibiotic injection that caused heart failure and sent the patient into what doctors fear may be a irreversible vegetative state. In recent weeks, the patient has opened her eyes, but doesn’t appear to recognize or acknowledge people around her.
The doctor who administered the injection, reportedly a Syrian who failed the Saudi Board of Medical Specialization exam, has been suspended. Dr. Sahl Salama, director general of the Health Affairs Directorate in Madinah, had sent the case to the Board of Legal Medicine in order to determine the extent of culpability of the doctor and the nurse.
