JEDDAH: A five-year-old comatose boy is stuck in a hospital in the southwestern city of Abha even though his family members live in Riyadh. A maternal uncle told Arab News recently that two hospitals in Riyadh have rejected the request for transfer while a third request is mired in bureaucracy.

Nawaf Al-Shehri, 5, and his parents were involved in a car accident on Dec. 23 on the road between Al-Namas and Abha in Asir province. The boy’s mother died and his father sustained multiple severe injuries.

The father is also convalescing in the hospital in Abha. “Nawaf’s father is suffering from the accident and the loss of his wife,” said Sultan Al-Shehri, one of the boy’s maternal uncles.

“He visited Nawaf once and we told him that he was sleeping and covered his body.”

Sultan says the boy’s the father still does not know that his only child is lying in a coma. The uncle has been trying to transfer Nawaf to a hospital in Riyadh. For the time being Sultan says that he and his brother have been taking turns driving every day from Riyadh to Abha, a drive that takes about 10 hours each direction.

“Nawaf has opened his eyes few times but he screams when he is awake and doctors give him tranquilizers to stop his pain,” he said.

Sultan also said that Nawaf suffered a fracture in his hand that went undiagnosed by the hospital. They demanded an X-ray after noticing a bruise.

“They found out that his hand was broken for over a month and his bones healed incorrectly,” said Sultan. The two maternal uncles have been trying to transfer the boy to Riyadh. According to the uncles, two hospitals rejected the requests while another, King Abdul Aziz Medical City, agreed but said there are no beds available and that the men should check back in a couple of weeks.

“We returned after two weeks but they told us we have to bring a new medical report and we have to go through the same procedures all over again,” said Sultan, who is now waiting for a reply to the second request. Arab News obtained a copy of the rejection letter from King Fahad Medical City.

The hospital denied the request for the transfer because “the service is available in the referring hospital.” The uncle told Arab News that he doubts the credibility of the medical report that is being sent to the hospitals in Riyadh and that’s why they are not accepting his case.

“He can receive better treatment in these hospitals and at the same time be close to us,” said Sultan. “I talked to a doctor from Jeddah and I sent him the report. The doctor told me the report is not accurate.”

Sultan also contacted King Faisal Specialist Hospital in Riyadh, which also rejected Nawaf’s case. According to the hospital, a medical team decides to accept patients of transfer cases. They decide upon the medical report they receive from the patient’s hospital.

“They have to review the case because maybe the patient can get the medical treatment somewhere else and they would have to spare a bed for patient with greater needs,” they told Arab News.

Arab News attempted to contact the supervising doctor in Nawaf’s case, Dr. Sayed Ahmed Aazim, who would not comment on the case. He requested a fax with questions be sent to the hospital. Arab News sent the fax on Jan. 31, but the hospital never replied.

Arab News also contacted the Public Relations Office in Asir Central Hospital, which said the Ministry of Health prohibits them from talking to the press.