JEDDAH: The operation department of a private Jeddah hospital has been closed after a medical mistake left a patient dead. The Health Affairs Department in Makkah province ordered the closure following instructions from Minister of Health Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah.
The decision, which came into effect on Sunday, was made after a committee investigating the death submitted its report to the minister. The report also dwelled on complications that a girl underwent during an operation at the same hospital.
The medical team responsible for the mistake has also been ordered to appear before a Shariah committee that looks into medical issues and is led by a judge for sentencing. The hospital authorities have also been ordered to appear before a Medical Violation Committee for sentencing.
The private hospital was found responsible for the death of Dr. Tareq Al-Johani, head of the Dental Department at King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Jeddah. He came to the hospital in late November to undergo an operation to reduce weight.
Al-Johani, however, went into a coma for 22 days, following a mistake while being administered anesthesia. He died on Dec. 18. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
His father, Salman Al-Johani, a retired army officer, said he filed a complaint with the Ministry of Health, the governorate, the Human Rights Commission and other related departments.
“I received a positive response because the case is clear. The Kingdom lost a good dentist and our family has suffered a huge loss. I am using every connection I know to push this case forward and punish those responsible. We are now waiting for the committee’s judgment. After that we will list our demands,” he said.
He added that financial compensation would not bring his son back and that the case is not about money. He also criticized the hospital’s manager who told the press that his son was suffering from health problems, saying these claims are untrue.
“People should know that the hospital is likely to say it is innocent, but their statements are not true. My son’s weight was not 173 kg as they claimed, but 142 kg,” he said.
“Tareq visited the hospital to consult doctors about his weight problem before the operation. He has medical files in other hospitals and none of these files say he was asthmatic,” he added.
Salman also criticized the hospital for not carrying out a medical checkup on Tareq because he was a doctor.
“How could they do such thing … they should have taken extra measures because my son entered the hospital as a patient. They should have known everything about him and known his medical history before he entered the operation theater,” he said.
Following the death, local newspapers reported that the female doctor who carried out the anaesthetization was not licensed to work in the Kingdom and was working temporarily at the hospital, where her husband is also employed. She was, however, a legal resident in the Kingdom.
An official from the hospital told another local newspaper that he did not know about the patient because he was out of the country. He also admitted that there were violations in the way the operation was carried out. Arab News visited the private hospital where an official said that the hospital respects the Ministry of Health’s decisions.
