Turki Al-Dakheel Al-Riyadh newspaper MEDICAL mistakes during delivery are among the most dangerous malpractice cases. Negligence by medical professionals has caused disasters, including deaths, in both private and public hospitals in Riyadh, Buraidah, Afif and other parts of the country. We read about these disasters everyday in the newspapers. Can you imagine that a medical error committed by a female doctor in a well-known private hospital in Riyadh cost her SR1,600,000 in fine while her error cost the poor little baby permanent development disorders? A woman in her 40s who was seven months' pregnant died a few months ago at Afif General Hospital, thanks to doctors' negligence. Many medical mistakes occur at Buraidah Maternity and Children's Hospital. Reports about malpractice cases in the media reveal the extent of the problem and total disregard for precious human life. Expecting mothers in Buraidah are frightened to death at the thought of giving birth at this hospital. The Ministry of Health should launch an investigation into these cases. We should not forget the case of a doctor who forgot his surgical instruments inside a patient's abdomen in the southern part of the Kingdom. These are scary medical errors and we should not stand watching and doing nothing. I suggest that the Shoura Council discuss this issue and enact a law that imposes stringent penalties on doctors responsible for medical errors. Many foreign doctors who made errors were deported in the past — which was their only punishment. The ministry should conduct an exhaustive study about medical errors being committed in the Kingdom's hospitals. Many people in the country have lost their loved ones and many others have lost a limb or two due to medical negligence. Hospitals in remote areas outside the city boundaries should get special attention. The complaints made by people of Afif should not be overlooked and erring doctors should be given exemplary punishments. Former minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi used to say that the Ministry of Health was a dangerous institution that made people sad. Tears filled his eyes whenever he saw the pain etched on the faces of patients in hospital beds. One a final note, I want emphasize that more care should be given to patients, a law should be formulated to penalize doctors who make medical errors, and the Ministry of Health and its hospitals should show greater responsibility in the light of increasing number of medical error cases reported on a daily basis.
