A private hospital here is demanding payment of SR1.8 million for treating a female Moroccan patient for two years. Fatimah, 52, sustained severe injuries after falling from her third floor apartment in Al-Salamah District in Jeddah on Oct. 16, 2009, after a fire broke out. She can no longer talk or walk. Her file with the Al-Salamah District Police is still open. It has not yet been determined whether someone pushed her or she jumped from the building's third floor. Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Jeddah Health Affairs, said: “The Ministry of Health's laws stipulate that any citizen or expatriate who needs emergency care should have access to medical treatment. If the Red Crescent can't find a bed in a public hospital, it should take the patient to a private hospital and notify the ministry within 40 hours. If the patient is a citizen, the ministry will take care of the costs. If the patient is an expatriate, the insurance company will pay the costs.” Once the patient has been stabilized, the patient should be referred to a public hospital if there is a bed available, Badawood explained, adding that if there is no bed available, the patient should remain in the private hospital. A source inside the hospital told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that the hospital notified Jeddah Health Affairs four days after the patient had been admitted to the hospital and had sent her medical reports. The hospital even sent a letter to the Moroccan Consulate in Jeddah to explain what happened to Fatimah, the source added. Dr. Ehab Al-Sulaimani, lawyer and human rights activist, who has been following up on the case, said Fatimah does not have relatives in the Kingdom. She needs to be deported to her country and admitted to a rehabilitation center close to her sons and relatives, Al
