JEDDAH – The director of Jeddah Health Affairs said a medical committee has been formed to probe the death of a Pakistani baby girl after it was alleged that she was a victim of medical negligence, Al-Madinah newspaper reported Thursday. Dr. Sami Badawood said: “The medical followup committee is conducting a thorough probe into the incident that allegedly happened at a private hospital in the city. “The Ministry of Health would never show any leniency to those who are found to have committed medical errors.” He said his department takes seriously any complaints regarding medical negligence. Meanwhile, the private hospital denied reports that the baby's death was caused by a medical error. The hospital authorities initially said it was down to fate that the baby died, before claiming it was due to problems the child faced during breastfeeding. The baby underwent a tracheostomy, a surgical procedure in which an opening is cut in the trachea (windpipe) so that a tube can be inserted to assist with breathing and feeding milk, the newspaper reported. After the procedure was over, the infant began to cry incessantly, apparently because of severe pain. The duty nurse then asked the baby's mother to take it to the nursery section and talk to the doctor there. Within a few minutes after the doctor's arrival, the baby died. Sources said a Ministry of Health investigation team has not visited the hospital nor questioned any of the hospital staff yet.
