Fatima Muhammad Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — The doctor treating a girl who slipped into a coma after a malignant tumor was removed from her brain at the recently shutdown Erfan and Bagedo Hospital in Jeddah has returned after leaving the country a day ago. When relatives of the girl discovered that the doctor had left the Kingdom, they raised the issue with officials, who said the hospital had pledged to bring the doctor back to face investigations. The 12-year-old girl, Raneem, has been in a coma for 20 days due to complications following the operation. A letter from Jeddah Health Affairs' investigation unit, a copy of which Saudi Gazette has seen, asked the hospital to send the department Raneem's medical records and a report about her case. The letter also said non-Saudi members of the team involved in the case should not be issued any re-entry visas or final exits. Raneem's father Mohammad Al-Haddad told Saudi Gazette the doctor was available at the hospital Monday morning, but had left in the evening when he tried to contact him because his daughter's head was bleeding. However, he was told that the doctor had traveled. Al-Haddad said: “When I asked how the doctor could leave while the investigation into Raneem's case was continuing and the authorities have issued an order banning all members of the medical team from leaving the country, I was told the hospital promised to bring the doctor back if any investigation was needed.” The father questioned the absence of arrangements with airport authorities to prevent people involved in an investigation from leaving the country. Jeddah Health Affairs has found a bed for Raneem at King Fahd Hospital but her father is refusing to transfer her there. Al-Haddad insists that his daughter be transferred only to King Faisal Specialist Hospital or the National Guard Hospital. Dr. Sami Badawood, director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, confirmed a bed had been prepared for Raneem at King Fahd General Hospital's ICU, but Al-Haddad has refused it. Badawood said his department would not force patients to shift from Erfan Hospital but they did make sure serious cases were transferred for their own safety. He said a committee from the Ministry of Health was available at the hospital checking on patients. Al-Haddad claimed his daughter had not been visited by this committee for the last seven days at least. Raneem's father has sent a letter to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah asking for his daughter to be transferred from Erfan Hospital to either King Faisal Specialist Hospital or the National Guard Hospital for advanced treatment. He also requested Makkah Emir Prince Khaled Al-Faisal to intervene in the case and approve his daughter's transfer to one of these two hospitals. Al-Haddad said the troubles started when his daughter started getting headaches that continued for five days. Painkillers did not help in alleviating the pain. He said: “We conducted some medical tests that did not help in diagnosing the cause of the continuous headaches. “Then she underwent an MRI scan that confirmed the existence of a large tumor that had to be removed urgently. “She was under medical observation and I was told she might die within 24 hours unless the tumor was removed. They asked me to give my approval for the surgery. “The operation was performed on her and the doctor told us she would regain consciousness within an hour, but she has been in a coma until this day. “She underwent a catheterization while she was in her coma. “Finally they told me her pulse, temperature and blood pressure were normal, but the brain stem was not responding.”
