NEWSPAPERS published a report last week about what happened to the baby boy of a judge in Hail.Sheikh Ali Al-Saawi's newborn baby was the victim of gross medical negligence at the Obstetrics and Maternity Hospital in Hail after three toes of the infant's left foot were severely burned. The report said quoting the judge: “When my wife was eight months pregnant, I took her to the hospital where she gave birth to a baby boy, who remained in the neonatal intensive care unit for 12 days. “During my visit to the infant two days after the birth, I was surprised to see gauze on his left foot. So I asked the nurse about it. She told me that the baby was suffering from low temperatures and he was placed near the heater, burning him.” The judge added: “There was no response or reaction from doctors or other hospital staff until I informed them about my job, saying that I knew how to hold the attending doctors accountable for their error. Then only was there a change in their attitude." The newspaper report carried details about the incident, such as the formation of committees to probe the case, their reports in writing, sweet promises, and even the wrong diagnosis and the subsequent recommendation to amputate the baby's three toes. At the same time, senior consultants from the National Guard Hospital in Riyadh and King Fahd Medical City who probed the incident did not make any recommendations, but just pointed out that the diagnosis of burning was possible but unlikely. When Sheikh Al-Saawi had disclosed what he did for a career, the director general of Health Affairs in the region received him and promised him (as usual) that a committee would be formed to investigate the case and that he would shift the baby to one of the specialist hospitals in Riyadh. As far as most citizens are concerned, this sort of drama happens frequently and there is no solution for this. We can only pray to God that this suffering won't be eternal, not only in the remote corners of the country but also in major cities. This time, the problem affected someone who is at the heart of the judiciary itself and who is entrusted with punishing those who are negligent in their duties. The testimony here was not from just a witness but a victim of the negligence that seems to be happening in many of our hospitals. I hope that this case remains alive in the public eye so it can serve as a precedent if similar situations affect any other citizens, God forbid.
