Battal was a healthy four year old boy who suffered from a mild fever, a common thing among children in his age. But he was given a dose of an antibiotic drug at the hospital after it had been prescribed by a doctor at a health care, his father said. According to his father, Battal was taken to hospital. After taking the drug, Battal suffered from a breakdown in platelets and a serum hemoglobin deficiency, his father Marzuq Al-Juai'd said. Battal was again taken to hospital where he was immediately admitted into the intensive care unit at the Pediatric Hospital in Taif. He was hospitalized for three months. Battal was later released, after showing some improvement. “My house turned into a hospital,” said the boy's father “After failing to get him admitted in a fully-equipped hospital, I had to obtain all the equipments and materials needed to keep my son aliveat home,” he said. The father demanded an investigation to be conducted in order to know if the deterioration of his son's health was due to the almost-lethal dose given to his son by the doctor. Dr. Fahd Al-Ghamdi, Director of the Pediatric Hospital in Taif, said that the child was released when his health started to pick up some signs of improvement. The child's current condition requires advanced medical intervention that can only be found in highly equipped medical facilities, he said. Taif Health Department had referred the child's case to several hospitals, but all of which refused to accept the case, he said. Dr. Abdulrahman Kurkrman, Director of Taif Health Department said that the incident would be investigated. The doctor allegedly involved would be penalized if proven guilty of medical error, he confirmed. Dr. Kurkuman also said that his department will make sure that the child would receive the required medical care necessary to stabilize his case. - Okaz __
