Maternity hospital ‘violating orphan rights’

JEDDAH –  An inspection of Al-Aziziyah Maternity Hospital in Jeddah by a women’s delegation from the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has exposed the deterioration of the department that deals with infants and children with special circumstances (orphans). The visiting team included legal researchers who said they will be submitting several notes to the authorities to take appropriate action to correct the situation. According to the hospital, the inspection was in response to a complaint that children of unknown parents were being hospitalized in improper conditions. The delegation checked child and infants wards, and noted that they were narrow spaces crammed with more than eight children, from newborns to two-year-olds. The process of feeding the newborns and children was chaotic and took place in a room that lacked ventilation, while children were also bathed in sinks meant for hand-washing. The team said children were in an agitated state and screaming because they were unable to play to release their energy. The children were banned from playing and kept inside a room and prevented from leaving. The hospital claimed that this was to protect them from infection, the team pointed out.