A number of medical staff working in government and private sector hospitals in Jeddah are under investigation for a medical error which resulted in the explosion of a mother’s womb sending her newborn baby into a coma, local media said quoting a Health Affairs spokesman in Jeddah.

Amin Al-Sheikh, the baby’s father filed a complaint to the police for negligence by the staff in the maternity ward at one of the private sector hospitals, and later, by the maternity and pediatrics government hospital in Musaddiya, where the case was referred to, which exposed the mother and the unborn child to risk, Abdulrahaman Al-Sahafi told Al-Watan daily.

In response, the Health Affairs department has formed a three-member committee consisting of maternity and pediatrics doctors to open an inquiry into the case. The medical staff responsible for the mishap have been called to give testimonials and banned from leaving the Kingdom.

“If the case is proved to be caused by negligence of the said medical staff, the file will be referred to the medical judicial council (MJC) for further procedures,” Al-Sahafi said.

The baby’s father told media that his wife who was in the ninth month of pregnancy was given false assurances during her routine checkups ignoring the severity of her case. At the time of the child’s birth, he had to rush his wife to the emergency unit of the maternity and pediatrics hospital in Musaadiyya where he was informed that she needed to undergo a caesarean delivery. “They kept her in the delivery room for two hours which aggravated the situation,” he said.

His wife was transported to the X-ray and operation rooms several times which caused complications, he said. She was given an anesthetic prior to being operated on and they even took her fingerprints which is a violation of the health ministry’s regulations, the father maintained. “The unnecessary delays and negligence on the part of the medical staff at the hospitals caused an explosion in my wife’s womb and my son to go into a coma,” he said.