Madinah Gov. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Majed issued the order after a Saudi woman complained that she was prevented by a hospital official from accompanying her seriously ill husband to the inpatient ward and thus causing aggravation of her husband’s condition, Al-Madinah newspaper reported on Thursday.

The woman said she was not allowed to go with her husband even after she told the official that her husband needed her constant attention as he was paralytic and in a coma. She added in her complaint to the governor that later, when she managed to visit him in the ward, she found him lying on the floor unconscious. She claimed that none of the hospital staff had noticed his falling from his bed even though the nursing station was close by, the woman pointed out in her complaint.

On receiving the complaint, Prince Abdul Aziz ordered the setting up of a committee to inquire into the complaints and allegations and to recommend necessary actions.

The committee had members from the governorate and the local Department of Health Affairs.

After inquiries, the committee recommended penal relocation of the deputy manager to a section where he need not interact with the public.

The committee also demanded hospital authorities appoint men capable of dealing with the public with understanding and sympathy in sensitive positions.

It also warned the nursing department not to be negligent in its duties. It recommended the setting up of a patients relations office at the emergency room to function even after normal working hours.