Case of five-year-old child who died at Al-Bashir Hospital referred to Public Prosecutor

Jordan

Published: 2021-09-15 10:24

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 16:57


Case of five-year-old child who died at Al-Bashir Hospital referred to Public Prosecutor
Case of five-year-old child who died at Al-Bashir Hospital referred to Public Prosecutor

The investigation team set up by the Ministry of Health Tuesday completed the investigation of the circumstances that led to the death of the five-year-old girl, Leen, who passed away at Al-Bashir Hospital Monday.

The investigation team said Wednesday that the case will be referred to the Public Prosecutor.

Notably, the Parliamentary Health and Environment Committee was set to hold a meeting Wednesday at 10am to discuss the case. However, the meeting was canceled due to the absence of the Minister of Health Feras Hawari.

Following his absence, a number of MPs expressed their displeasure.

The Chairman of the committee said "The minister did not attend and did not give us any response. We apologize to the Secretary-General and the journalists."

"We are ending the meeting."

Tuesday, investigations regarding the case of the five-year-old Leen Abu Hattab formed by the Ministry of Health, condemned five doctors for failing to diagnose her condition after they misdiagnosed her twice and she returned home without assessment of the severity of the situation.

The hospital’s director, Abdelmane Sulaimat, said that the investigation committee’s report was issued and the hospital administration is now awaiting the results and recommendations of the second report of the impartial investigation committee formed by the Minister of Health.

The two reports will be sent to the Minister of Health for his decision.

Sulaimat added, "If we are assigned to act and make a decision, the investigation file will be submitted to the Public Prosecutor to take the legal procedures."

Earlier Tuesday, the Director of the National Center for Forensic Medicine, Hassan Al-Hawari, said that the cause of the death of the five-year-old child, Leen, who underwent a surgery at Al-Bashir Hospital, was due to bacteremia as a result of inflammation of the peritoneum after an appendectomy.

Hawari added in a statement to Roya that this occurs when the appendix ruptures, which results in inflammation of the abdominal cavity, and later it results in the transmission of the germ into the blood.

Tuesday, the Ministry of Health said that it has opened an investigation into the case to determine the cause of Leen's death. The investigation committee includes a medical, administrative and legal team from the Ministry of Health and the Hashemite University.

The ministry stated that the committee began their investigations into the full circumstances of the child's death this morning.

The ministry confirmed that the investigation team will issue its report within the next 24 hours. Those proven to be negligent will be held accountable.

Monday, Maher Abu Hatab, father of Leen, 5, who died in Al-Bashir Hospital told Roya that his daughter died because of a ‘medical error.’

The child was first rushed into the ER for suffering from abdominal pain. She was diagnosed with a urinary tract infection and sent home, the father said.

Abu Hatab added that the second time they took her to Al-Bashir they said the five-year-old had inflammation in the intestine.

The third time she required medical help, the parents took her to a private doctor who diagnosed her with appendicitis and said she quickly needed to be taken to the nearest hospital.

The father said her appendix then ruptured after Al-Bashir Hospital took four hours to determine whether or not she actually had appendicitis, after which she was taken to the operation room.

“The day after the operation, the girl’s mother informed the doctor that Leen's stomach was bloated. The doctor told the mother that there is gas and that she must walk and move around to get the gas out of her body,” he told Roya.

He added, “Because she still had gas, a new operation was scheduled.”

When she left the second operation, she was pronounced dead.

The father said that the Forensic Medicine Department told him the cause of death was a ‘medical error.’

In turn, the director of Al-Bashir Hospital, Abdelmane al Sulaimat, vowed to hold all those who were involved with the case accountable and that negligence will not be tolerated.