MADINAH, 14 April 2008 — The Directorate of Health Affairs has ordered a hospital in Madinah to pay SR140,000 to the family of a woman who died after being given the wrong type of blood after a routine Cesarean section in 2006, press reports said yesterday.
The Directorate of Health Affairs held Safa Al-Madinah Hospital responsible for the death of Najat Balhamar, a mother of four, who was mistakenly given blood type AB instead of blood type O.
In addition to punishing the hospital, the directorate fined an Egyptian doctor SR7,000 and another doctor SR1,000. A laboratory technician, who disappeared after the woman’s death, was fined SR10,000, which will be paid by the hospital.
Adel ibn Abdul Rahim Sharaf, spokesman for the Directorate of Health Affairs, said that the money had been paid to the woman’s family. “We are strict in penalizing violators, regardless of whether they are from private or governmental hospitals,” he said.
Balhamar, who was heavily pregnant, had come to Madinah to spend her summer holidays. She was brought to the hospital where doctors delivered the baby through cesarean section.
Thereafter, Balhamar’s condition deteriorated and she was administered the wrong blood type. The hospital was not equipped to deal with the case and so decided to transfer Balhamar to another hospital.
According to reports, an unlicensed lab technician failed to verify the blood type clearly marked on a bag with the patient’s medical report that stated her correct blood type.
A committee set up to investigate the death found the hospital guilty of negligence. It also found a medical team at the hospital that dealt with the woman blameworthy.
A source from the Health Affairs Department in Madinah told Arab News in 2006 that though the doctor was responsible for supervising the blood transfer she failed to monitor the transfusion.
“If she had supervised the blood transfer, she would have discovered early on that the blood type was AB while Najat’s blood type was O. She was also late to make a decision to transfer Najat to a specialized government hospital when her condition started to deteriorate,” he said.
He added that the investigation found the lab technician guilty of providing the wrong type of blood. “This error could have been avoided if the medical crew and the female doctor did the proper testing before transfusing the blood. As for the two nurses and the anesthetist, they take part of the blame but the majority of the blame falls on the doctor,” said the source.
Following the death, the Directorate of Health Affairs submitted a request to the Passport Department asking them to prevent hospital staff involved in the case from leaving the Kingdom.
Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz ibn Majed also paid an unexpected visit to the hospital and ordered the closure of the hospital’s maternity section, operating theater and laboratory.
The prince insisted on disciplining those responsible saying that the lives of patients are not toys to be played with and ordered the suspension of staff involved in the case.
The surprise visit had a huge impact on the local populace. People gathered outside the hospital in large numbers and staff tried to prevent journalists and photographers from entering the building.
Balhamar’s family also arrived at the hospital and her older brother thanked the prince for his concern saying that the visit was a big step in assuaging their feelings. “It is the biggest condolence the family could possibly receive,” he said.
