year-old boy who died last week of food poisoning allegedly due to medical negligence in a reputed hospital is reluctant to lodge a complaint with the authorities. The paternal uncle ‘A' of the deceased boy said his young brother and his entire four-member family including eight-year-old daughter suffered food poisoning, but that they were unwilling to undergo lengthy procedures and legal wrangling usually involved in such cases. “What will I achieve after losing the life of my nine-year- old son,” said A quoting his brother. The names of the family members have been kept secret upon request. The boy was admitted early in the morning last week into a hospital with symptoms of food poisoning. The doctors at the hospital discharged the boy after administering IV and conducting a few preliminary clinical tests. At around 12 noon on the same day, the boy started to vomit again showing signs of food poisoning. The father called his brother, who lived just a few apartment buildings away, to take them to the hospital, because by that time the entire family was affected by food poisoning. The boy was already unconscious and upon reaching the hospital, the ER Department staff were trying to look for gurneys, which were not available at that time. “I took the boy in my own arms to avoid the delay caused by the unavailability of gurneys at the hospital,” said A adding that the eight-year-old daughter, ‘B', father, ‘C', and mother, ‘D', were already starting to show symptoms of severe food poisoning. However, he said he realized that the boy was dead even before any healthcare was given to him. ‘A' wondered why the doctors discharged the boy without his full recovery saying he started shouting after they declared the boy dead. ‘A' said the doctors on duty became attentive and knew the severity of the problem only after the boy had lost his life. The family, he said, was then seriously concerned about the deteriorating health condition of their daughter, who fainted while being treated. However, the doctors realized the urgency and started giving full healthcare to the remaining members of the family, he said, which saved their lives. ‘A' said the family, victimized by medical negligence, was very reluctant to lodge any complaint against the hospital, whose staff's credentials, despite the big name and well-established medical facilities of the hospital, were questionable. According to a media report, the Saudi Medical Council during the past few months has rejected 1,500 certificates of doctors, pharmacists, nurses and medical technicians because the Council suspected the authenticity of their documents. The Council detected 800 fake certificates when submitted by medical establishments for registration of personnel that included doctors, nurses, pharmacists, opticians, dental and laboratory technicians, among others. The Ministry of Health will also not renew work contracts of doctors, nurses and other medical technicians both in the private and public sector unless they pass a test conducted by the Saudi Medical Council.
