ABHA, 23 October 2007 — The head of Abha General Hospital in the Asir region has denied that the deaths of nine prematurely born babies at the hospital were due to a lack of cleanliness at the hospital’s intensive care unit as reported recently by local newspapers.
Abdullah Al-Qahtani, head of Abha General Hospital, said the nine babies who died at his hospital were born prematurely and breathing through respirators. “Three of the babies were girls and six boys. ... Some of the babies had caught infections from their mothers during birth,” he added.
Al-Qahtani was refuting claims in the local press that nine babies had died at the hospital due to a lack of cleanliness. The hospital boss said the first death was on the first day of Ramadan. The other children died subsequently on different dates over the past four weeks.
“However, the intensive care unit and the operation room are at greater risk of being places where illnesses can be transferred. ... Some of the babies may have caught infections due to their physical weakness,” he added.
Al-Qahtani said premature babies are at higher risk not to survive and that hospitals have a Death Investigation Committee, which is responsible for investigating possible malpractice in case of deaths. “What the local newspapers have published regarding a lack of cleanliness at the intensive care unit and the spread of bacteria and viruses is untrue,” he said.
Following reports of negligence in the local press, Dr. Abdullah Al-Wadie, head of Medical Affairs in the Asir region, made an inspection tour of Abha General Hospital, said Saeed Al-Nugair, press officer at the Asir Medical Affairs.
