Abdulaziz Al-Ribaie
and Ashwaq Al-Tuwairqi
Okaz/Saudi Gazette
MAKKAH — A man accused a private hospital of causing the death of his wife during childbirth. Emad Esmat said his wife Tahani Khayat had labor pains on Saturday morning.
“My wife was pregnant with our sixth child and she was at the beginning of her ninth month. Once she began having labor pains on Saturday morning, I took her to the hospital. My wife had the urge to leave once I admitted her to the hospital but the doctor refused,” said Esmat, adding, “He also said his wife was in labor and she may give birth any minute and must stay in the hospital.”
He added his wife went into labor with her mother and the doctor in attendance. She was given two shots of epidural and was forced to undergo induced labor.
“Hours passed and my wife had not delivered yet. After several more hours, my wife gave birth to our son Tamim. Her mother told me that the doctor had caused her internal bleeding,” said Esmat.
He added after delivery his wife was put in a different room and her mother went to see her but found her unconscious.
“I called my mother in law and she told me that my wife is unconscious and is still bleeding heavily. I rushed to the hospital and saw that my wife was unconscious. I talked to the doctor and returned in the evening to check up on my wife,” said Esmat.
He added he found no medical staff around and the door of the room his wife was in was closed.
“I was with my children and we had to kick the door open to see my wife. All I saw was my wife’s corpse that had turned blue with blood all over the floor. There were two workers wiping the blood off the floor. My wife’s jaw was hanging and by the sight of it no one had tended to her at all,” said Esmat.
He added the workers got scared and scurried out of the room. “The security of the hospital called the police after I threw a fit. I was detained and taken to the police station. I explained what happen to the police and they told me I should report the incident to the Health Affairs Directorate,” said Esmat.
He added a few days later he received a call from the police telling him that the hospital had filed a complaint against him and his children for assaulting the medical staff and damaging medical equipment.
“The police told me the hospital is demanding SR900,000 in compensation for damages. All their allegations are untrue. They are trying to force me to back out from complaining against them because their callous negligence killed my wife,” said Esmat.
Makkah Health Affairs spokesman Abdulwahab Shallaby said the directorate has formed a committee to look into the incident.
“The committee started its investigation of the incident on Sunday. The committee took into consideration the citizen’s statement that the private hospital’s action has resulted in the death of his wife. The doctor responsible for the deceased patient is banned from travel until the investigation is complete,” said Shallaby.
