JEDDAH: A nurse, who has allegedly uncovered a number of fatal medical errors at a hospital here, has been issued with a written warning by the Health Affairs department in Jeddah. This is because she had accused the Health Affairs department of “manipulating” the investigation launched into a dispute between her and the director of a government hospital over her discovery of the medical errors. The incidents she uncovered at Al-Aziziya Obstetrics and Children's Hospital include allegations that a baby died because of an injection and three women whose ureters were damaged during delivery. Abeer Hussein, who was head nurse at the time and has a bachelor's degree in nursing, was demoted and assigned to the nursery division after she informed the hospital's director about the violations. After months of “bad treatment” she left the hospital, she claimed, adding that she had approached the Ministry of Health and called for an investigation into the issue. She said she has the documents proving her allegations. The documents “show the extent of the manipulation of patients' health and lives inside this hospital”, she claimed. Hussein said she was surprised because the written warning she received from the department stated that she had not revealed the violations, despite the fact she had done so during an investigation. She said that instead of getting an answer to her request for an investigation into the errors, she had received a warning. Hussein said she would continue seeking to uncover the facts even if it means “traveling to the capital and meeting the minister himself”. Dr. Sami Ba Dawoud, Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, said the nurse was demoted by the ministry because she exploited her position in the administration to photograph confidential documents of patients.
