JEDDAH, 13 April 2004 — Health Affairs in Makkah have set up an investigation into the refusal of the Maternity Hospital to admit an African woman for emergency delivery.
According to Okaz newspaper, the woman was transported to the hospital by ambulance, but the on-duty doctor refused to admit the woman even though she had gone into labor.
Others at the hospital begged the doctor to admit the woman for the sake of her health. After half an hour without medical care, she fainted from the pain.
The husband became violent and the police had to be called. The officers also urged the hospital to admit the woman for the sake of the baby, but to no avail.
Eventually, a man volunteered to take the woman to a private hospital at his own expense, the paper said.
Dr. Taleb Al-Hujaili, deputy manager of the Health Affairs Department, stressed it was imperative to treat emergency patients as soon as they arrive.
Al-Hujaili said he would supervise the investigation personally.
“We are talking with the hospital’s director, the on-duty doctor and nurses and collecting information,” Fayeq Husseini, director of public relations at the Health Affairs in Makkah, told Arab News.
Husseini questioned whether it had really been an emergency, saying the law compels hospitals to admit emergencies regardless of their nationality or financial situation. “We always emphasize the humanitarian duty of our medical staff before policies and procedures,” he said.
Public hospitals treat Saudis and government employees for free and are supposed to give priority to Saudis, but they do not neglect or refuse expatriates.
“Out of ten deliveries a day, perhaps only two are Saudis and sometimes none,” said a nurse at Jeddah’s Maternity Hospital.
Expatriates are expected to pay SR1,500 for a normal delivery including hospital stay and SR3,000 for a caesarian.
However, the patient’s financial abilities are always taken into consideration and exceptions are made allowing them to pay a nominal fee, according to a source at the hospital.
Emergency patients are admitted even if they have no file at the hospital.
When a pregnant woman arrives at the hospital, the law requires the doctor to examine her. If she has a file, she is admitted, if not and she is not yet in labor, she is turned away.
“What some of those who are turned away do is wait at the hospital premises — maybe even sleep in the hallways — until it is time for them to deliver their baby, and then the hospital is by law obliged to admit them,” a doctor said. They not only put their own and their baby’s life in danger but also disrupt the hospital.
Expatriates working in Saudi Arabia have their and their dependents’ medical expenses paid for their employers according to their contract.
“Most of the women we turn away are here illegally,” the doctor said. “It’s a sad situation for them but we have our limits too.”
