Ra'ed Al-Maliki Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH – The Makkah Health Affairs department is investigating why a pregnant woman who miscarried at Makkah Maternity Hospital was made to wait so long before she was treated. The woman's husband took his wife to the hospital's emergency unit. She was pregnant and severely bleeding. After a long wait, the doctor asked the couple for X-rays. The X-ray unit was closed at the time and the doctor said she could not attend to the wife until she got them done. He took his wife to a private hospital, which recommended they go to a government hospital. They went back to the maternity hospital the next day and after a two-hour wait, an X-ray was done. They went back with the X-rays to the doctor, who decided to admit the wife immediately. Before completing the admission procedures the doctor canceled her decision and would not admit the woman without telling the husband why. She asked the man to take his wife to another clinic. The husband complained to the medical director who called the doctor. However, after the pair spoke the director endorsed the doctor's recommendation. When they visited another clinic, the doctor there questioned why the woman had been referred to her. She said the wife should have been admitted to the hospital. The husband went back to meet the medical director at Makkah Maternity and informed him of the clinic doctor's recommendation. His wife was finally admitted but by then it was too late and she had miscarried. The husband complained to the hospital director Dr. Waleed Al-Amri but did not receive a reply. The man then complained to the Makkah health directorate and only then did Al-Amri finally call back, promising to take action within a day. He later asked for a week to investigate as the hospital was moving to another location. The medical director of Makkah Maternity Hospital, who gave his name as Dr. Usamah, told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that an investigation was underway and the results would be available next Saturday. He said if negligence is proved the treating doctor would be disciplined.
