JEDDAH: A medical committee has been directed by the Department of Technical Monitoring at the Jeddah Health Affairs Directorate to investigate allegations by the family of a cancer patient that a private hospital in Jeddah hid news of his condition for five years.

According to the directorate’s spokesman, the committee “obtained all medical files of the patient and took a statement from the patient’s son, and the investigation is continuing.” The spokesman said that experts had also been told to study the issue.

The patient’s son, Abdullah Al-Johar, reported to a local paper that his father, Mohammed bin Suleiman “died Monday morning at the private hospital in Jeddah due to the hospital’s non-disclosure of his cancer and negligent treatment.”

He said his family plans to file a suit. The family’s lawyer and legal advisor, Wael Jawharji, is currently following all necessary legal procedures in order to expedite the case.

He said, “The hospital violated Articles 10 and 11 of the regulations for health establishments, and the director of health affairs has the authority, as per Articles 17 and 22, to transfer all medical files to the forensic medical committee to review the responsibility of the private health establishment in order to determine if there has been a private or public request for rights, or a request from the ministry or public prosecutor.”

“Article 23 of the regulations stipulates that it is permissible for the committees included in Article 25 to issue a decision, as a precautionary measure, to stop the activities of the violating establishment if it finds proof or strong evidence that a violation took place.”

The lawyer noted that the same hospital was previously closed following the death of a young man.

The family of the cancer patient decided to pursue the case against the hospital and file a complaint with the health affairs directorate in Jeddah after their story went viral on social media.