BAHA — Relatives of the five babies who died at the intensive care unit of King Fahd Hospital in Baha have urged authorities to publish the results of the investigations into the deaths without delay.
A committee has been set up on the directives of the Baha governor and the health minister to determine the cause of the deaths of five newborn babies at the hospital's ICU in a single day.
“What is the reason for the delay in announcing the results,” one relative asked.
Al-Madinah Arabic daily had previously revealed three more deaths in the department, bringing the total number of deaths to eight in less than two months but the hospital authorities disclosed only five deaths.
The relatives believed that the Health Ministry wanted to lessen the gravity of the issue by delaying the publication of the investigation report. They said they would appoint a lawyer to defend their case but the ministry said it was still waiting for the investigation report.
“We will announce the results through a press statement,” said the ministry’s spokesman.
Abdul Rahman Abdul Muttalib Al-Ghamdi, relative of one of the children, said he could not understand the reason for the delay in announcing the results except to cool down the tempers.
“We have approached the committee members while they visited the hospital and they promised that the investigations would be fair and unbiased,” Al-Ghamdi told Al-Madinah.
“The committee is delaying the announcement of the results without any convincing reason,” he said. “The result will be based on a joint vision of the monitoring authorities and health committees.”
He added: “There could be a reason for the death five newborn babies at a hospital in the same manner in a single night. We want the authorities to declare the truth in light of the governor’s directive and punish negligent doctors and nurses responsible for the incident.”
Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, a bereaved father, said the committee had never contacted the relatives to get their opinion. “It should have collected information from all parties involved to prepare an unbiased report,” he added.
He said the hospital authorities handed them the bodies without informing them the cause of death. “This matter should be taken into consideration while investigating the incident.”
He said the investigation should not have taken this long without any reason.
The father of Juana Ali Al-Zahrani, a baby girl who died on the same night, has a different story to tell. “The hospital management told me that the committee has completed teh investigation and left the town. They also said the committee will meet with the children’s relatives.”
However, Al-Zahrani expressed his suspicion about the protracted investigation. “The delaying tactics aims at calming down the relatives,” he said and urged authorities to take punitive action against negligent hospital employees.
Lawyer Misfer Al-Ghamdi said the delay has caused mental distress to the children’s relatives. “It should not have taken this long to announce the results,” he told Al-Madinah.
“It’s a matter of a medical error or destiny. If there were no criminal negligence involved, the children’s relatives should be given a clear picture so that they can either approach the legal medical committee or the administrative court,” the lawyer said.
Faisal Al-Zahrani, spokesman for the Health Ministry, said the ministry was still awaiting the results of the investigation and that it would announce the findings through a press statement.
