MAKKAH — A Saudi has accused the Maternity and Children's Hospital in Makkah of being responsible for the death of his grandchild while it was still in the womb of the mother. He said negligence of the hospital's staff and the delay of delivery caused the death of his unborn grandchild. The grandfather, Saad Al-Qarni, said he had sent a cable to the health minister requesting him to stop all those who caused the death of his grandchild from work until the case was investigated and also to prevent them from traveling outside the Kingdom. “I also asked the minister to preserve the medical file so as to prevent any change in the data,” he said. Al-Qarni said that his daughter-in-law was admitted to the emergency ward of the hospital after Isha prayers last Sunday. “She was admitted to room No. 8 on the third floor which is dedicated to caesarian cases. The woman and her unborn baby were in good health according to the medical report,” he said. At 1 p.m. the child's pulse was examined and was found to be normal. At 9 a.m. the following day, a female obstetrician examined the woman and said afterward that there was no change in the dilation of the womb since she was admitted to the hospital. “The patient was screaming with pain. A consultant examined her and stated that her condition remained unchanged. When the nurse asked him if she should take her down to the delivery room, he asked her to wait until the crowd there was reduced,” the grandfather said. He said when the nurse took her to the delivery room the baby's heart was still beating. “No sooner than the nurse took her to the labor room than she asked her to put on her abaya and took her back to her room because she claimed there were more urgent cases than hers,” he said. Al-Qarni said after noon prayer she was taken once again to the delivery room but was left on the gurney unattended and crying from pain. “By then, the heart of the fetus had already stopped. The pain momentarily subsided and she fell into a shock because of the death of her unborn baby,” he said. Al-Qarni said he had called the Department of Health Affairs to send a representative to follow up the case. “The representative told me that these are technical matters in which they do not intervene. He also asked me to stay away and let them do their work.” Al-Qarni said the consultant obstetrician finally performed the cesarean operation to remove the dead baby. Health Affairs spokesman Fawwaz Sheikh said the complaint of the citizen was received and conveyed to the special committee on medical violations for consideration.
