The Shariah Medical Commission in Asir has fined three doctors and two nurses SR57,000 for medical errors that led to the death of 20-year-old Reem Hamdi while undergoing a Cesarean operation a year ago. The woman who had anemia suffered an acute deficiency in the circulating blood volume which implied a deficiency of oxygen. The commission in its decision fined gynecologist Dr. Muhammad Bashir SR40,000 – 80 percent of Shariah blood money – which will be paid to the woman's husband, in addition to eliminating the possibility of renewing his contract, for the negligence manifested in not giving the woman blood units before and after the surgery despite the fact the hemoglobin volume in her blood was 7.6 ml, which should have been increased to 10 ml according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization. The doctor was also found negligent in not following up the patient's condition after the surgery and in giving her 100 ml of pethidine which is considered high given her anemic condition and which is thought to have largely contributed to her death. The commission also obliged anesthesiologist Ahmad Mukhtar to pay SR10,000, 20 percent of Shariah blood money, for administering drugs to the patient despite the fact that she suffered from anemia. It also fined gynecologist Ayman Abdul Ghani SR3,000 to be paid to the government. It fined the nurses Aamna Al-Sadi and Salha Ahmad SR2,000 each for not registering the details of the patient's condition efficiently. The commission's ruling was based on the recommendations generated by the investigation committee that was formed following a complaint by the husband, Hussien Saeed.
