Najran, Saudi Arabia – 26th December, 2018: A female doctor of an Arab nationality was attacked by relatives of a patient because she refused to violate the hospital rules.
The relatives of the patient even attacked her children in a public garden, in addition to damaging her house and vandalizing her car.
The woman patient was reportedly a relative of the manager of Najran General Hospital where the doctor worked. The doctor came live on social media to describe the attack against her and the video clip went viral. Many people sympathized with her and called on the authorities to serve justice where others accused her of exaggerating.
According to the video, the doctor received an elderly woman patient with high fever at her clinic. The doctor suspected that the old woman might have been infected with the coronavirus that caused the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). The patient did not carry any identification with her at the time, but the doctor admitted her to the hospital after obtaining her name and the phone number of her relatives. She then contacted the woman's relatives and told them about her case. She also asked them to produce the woman's ID.
She also informed them that the patient might be kept in the isolation ward until the confirmation of her medical condition.
The family refused to give the hospital her ID and demanded that she be discharged under their responsibility.
The doctor again requested that they should send her the woman's ID so that she could the samples to the laboratory in Riyadh.
The family refused the request under the excuse that none of them could go to the hospital, which is far away from their home.
However, the female doctor went ahead with the medical procedure of examining the woman. She was admitted to an isolation room until the completion of her paperwork for fear that she might infect other patients.
Meantime, another doctor informed her that the elderly woman was the mother of the hospital manager. The female doctor insisted on carrying on with the medical procedure even if she was the hospital manager's mother.
The hospital manager contacted the doctor to inquire about his mother's condition. When she explained everything to him, he got angry asking her why she completed the procedure and sent her to the isolation even after knowing that she was his mother.
She told him that even if she was his mother, medical procedures have to be completed under hospital regulations. He then threatened to punish her and hung up.
The doctor then contacted a number of departments to protect her from the hospital manager and his relatives. The Public Prosecution assured her that there was no threat to her life. She said she was surprised when a number of people attacked her children in a public park. Later unidentified people came and attacked her house and damaged the family car.
The doctor ended the recording by saying that she wanted to return to her country because she feared for her life.
Okaz/Saudi Gazette attempted to contact the hospital manager, but he refused to comment and directed the reporter to the media department and the health affairs in Najran. The media department said they were still investigating the incident.
Source: http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/551073