Awadh Bakheet Al-Hobaishi alleged that hospital staff made a wrong diagnosis and delayed treatment for his wife, resulting in a deterioration of her health and eventually causing her death.

He lodged a complaint with the Health Affairs Department in Madinah, demanding an investigation and prosecution of the allegedly errant hospital staff.

Promising an investigation into the incident, Abdul Razaq Hafez, director of public relations and health information at the department, said that the case would be handed over to the Forensics Authority for further examination if any evidence of a medical error were found in the preliminary investigation.

According to Awadh, he took his wife to Ohod Hospital on Oct. 8 after she fell sick with a high temperature. After a consultation, she was given medication including antibiotics.

“When I requested the hospital staff to admit her to the hospital, they said there was no need for it. I took her again to hospital the next day (Saturday) when her condition worsened. She was given an injection in the emergency section and told to go home,” said Al-Hobaishi.

“When I found that her condition was further deteriorating, I went to the hospital the next day and asked doctors to admit her, but they again refused.”

On Monday, Al-Hobaishi took his wife to a local polyclinic and she was finally referred to the hospital. She was treated in the outpatient clinics. After three days of testing and checkups, it was diagnosed that there was something wrong with her blood. The platelet count was high and there was a virus in the blood.

The doctor in duty told that her condition was 100 percent sound and there was no need for her to be hospitalized.

Then, she approached another doctor who told her that she had a chest infection and pneumonia. After this, an Indian doctor came and, after checking her X-rays, told her there was a possibility of her being infected with swine flu, he said.

“After five days of checkups, the hospital staff decided to admit her. The next day, some doctors came, examined my wife and then said that her condition was untreatable,” Al-Hobaishi said.

“They disclosed that her lung was not working and that was due to negligence and delaying appropriate treatment for a week. Then, I took her to Al- Mouwasat Hospital where she received intensive care and treatment, but to no avail. Her lung was almost functionless and she was subsequently put on a ventilator for eight days.”