JEDDAH, 19 November 2006 — The day before she was to receive her master’s degree, 26-year-old honor student Johara Al-Harthi went to a private hospital on Nov. 5 to get treated for flu and a sore throat. She never received her diploma.
Hours after receiving six injections at the Saudi Hospital in Jeddah’s Al-Sharafiyeh district, Al-Harthi’s family returned her to the hospital. Her blood pressure plummeted. She was immediately admitted to the emergency ward. Within hours she was pronounced dead. After Al-Harthi’s story hit the local media early last week, Jeddah’s Department of Health Affairs filed an official complaint against doctors and the hospital on Wednesday. Their licenses to practice have been temporarily revoked and they have been barred from leaving the country.
A committee was formed to determine if medical malpractice was the cause of death. Yesterday committee members met with the family of the deceased and announced that the results of their inquiry would be released in two to three days.
Arab News obtained a copy of the invoice for the injections administered to Al-Harthi. The invoice states that the patient received two 500-milligram injections of the antibiotic Enoxirt (a commercial name for the drug Triaxone) and one injection of an anti-nausea drug Premosan (a commercial name for the drug Metoclopramide). The invoice also states she received an allergy test for one of the medications, but doesn’t stay which. The two other injections are only labeled as “Injection I.V.” and “Medicine”.
The sudden drop of her blood pressure was due to the large quantity of drugs pumped in her blood system, said Dr. Saleh Al-Zahrani, president of Educational Institute for Medical Photography in a written statement to one of the relatives. Without elaborating, Al-Zahrani also claims one of the drugs is illegal to administer and suspects the patient was rushed to burial in order to avoid an autopsy.
Initially, the family of the deceased wasn’t planning on filing a medical malpractice complaint because they felt helpless and believed little could be done, according to the girl’s father Hamoud Al-Harthi.
“I see stories like this every day in our local newspapers,” said the father. “Two people have died in this hospital — one this year and another last year due to malpractice. And still the hospital is operating.”
The father said the family was contacted by the Department of Health Affairs after they responded to the local Arabic media reports of the death.
“I was surprised by how much care was given to this case by the authorities,” said the father. “That encouraged me to file the complaint.” The committee currently investigating the case comprises specialists from King Fahd and King Abdul Aziz hospitals, said Dr. Mahmoud Abduljawad, assistant director of health affairs for medical and pharmaceutical licenses.
“The committee was formed after we read the story in a local newspaper,” he said. “Our job is to protect the society from medical negligence and mistakes by investigating the case even if the family doesn’t approach us.”
