Death at SMC : NHRA Bahrain pledges probe

Manama : Relatives of a man, who died after undergoing treatment at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC) last week, are alleging that “a medical error, which left a hole in his stomach” led to the mishap. 

Ali Al Jadeed walked into SMC last May to undergo a gastric banding operation, but his condition deteriorated and fell into a coma, before succumbing to his illness at the complex on Tuesday.

According to his relatives, the doctor who performed the operation assured them that “Al Jadeed’s condition is fine”.

However, they also claimed that “a medical error, which is a hole in the stomach, caused the deceased’s condition to worsen”.

The relative demanded the authorities initiate an investigation into their son’s death and to hold the responsible parties accountable.

Meanwhile, in another development, National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) CEO Dr Maryam Al Jalahma pledged to investigate the matter if it received an official complaint from the deceased’s relatives. 

Bahrain Medical Society (BMS) said they had discussed the matter at a meeting held yesterday at the society’s headquarters in Juffair.

The meeting also suggested that hospitals should consider insuring their employees in the case of medical errors.  

It’s noteworthy that NHRA received 58 complaints regarding medical errors in 2016 and referred 24 of them to the judicial authorities.