Saleh Al-Olyan Okaz/Saudi Gazette DAMMAM — Bureaucracy at a medical insurance company resulted in the death of his newborn son at a local hospital in Sehat, said a broken-hearted father. Ghanim Al-Ghanim said the baby developed serious complications immediately after birth at a polyclinic in Sehat and doctors there recommended the infant's quick transfer to the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Dammam or to any other advanced medical center for appropriate treatment. He said the hospital sent the diagnosis to the insurance company for approval to refer the baby to any specialized center as the infant was suffering from serious complications in the heart that needed advanced treatment. The father said by the time the company sent its consent the baby had already been buried. He said before receiving the consent he tried to admit his child to the maternity hospital but the hospital rejected all his pleas under the pretext that the reports were incomplete. He alleged that hospital refused to receive the baby even after the papers had been completed. He kept trying to persuade the hospital's administration to admit his son from 7 p.m. to 12 midnight but it apologized saying that there was no bed available. Tears rolled down his cheeks when the father recalled that when he went back to the clinic he found his son already dead. A source at the Ministry of Health said the father has the right to lodge a complaint against the insurance company because of its unprofessional attitude. Salah Al-Jabr, head of the Insurance Department at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Eastern Province, said the citizen has the right to sue the company if he has evidence to prove its failure to fulfill its obligations. He advised the father to raise the matter with the Health Cooperative Insurance Council at the Ministry of Health, which oversees medical insurance companies all over the Kingdom.
