Medical negligence: Man slips into ‘vegetative’ state

Manama : A 63-year-old Bahraini man has slipped into a vegetative state, allegedly due to a doctor’s negligence in administering anaesthesia.

Mukhtar Ahmed, who was admitted to  undergo  an open heart surgery at a hospital here, ended up suffering from a brain failure due to medical carelessness, it was claimed.

He was reportedly admitted to the hospital on 13th of May to undergo surgery the next day. His daughter Azra Mukhtar claims that  he was mentally and emotionally stable before visiting hospital.

“Aside from the fact that he was a bit weak because of the heart issue, he was doing well,” she told DT News. 

However the surgery did not take place due to complications in the anaesthesia procedure, she tells.

“Few hours before the surgery was supposed to take place, the hospital called me and told me that my father was doing fine and that I could meet him. When I went there, they told me that there has been a complication and the surgery did not take place because the anaesthesia was not successful. They informed me that his brain is likely to be injured because of what went wrong during the procedure,” she told.

She also blamed the doctors for getting the pre-operation documents signed by her father, without consulting them. 

“The first thing that upset us was that on the day of the surgery, my father was asked to sign a document to choose the type of anaesthesia for the surgery. The doctor asked him to sign it without consulting us. He should not have asked my father as he was stressed and anxious about the surgery” 

Azra says that no proper assistance  was provided by the hospital after the incident and the  hospital authorities are not providing any support to help Ahmed recover.

“Now the hospital is refusing to help us, despite the fact that we are suffering because of their mistake. They asked us to go home, saying that there is nothing they could do anymore,” she laments.

She claims that due to the carelessness of the staff, the patient is also suffering from bed sores.

“He has the chance to get better. If he gets the right care, he can get well in a few months. Since we are not receiving any support  he is not making any progress. He is at a different hospital which does not have the required facilities. Even the bed he is lying on is not the required one, he is getting bed sores and suffering a lot from it. We have suffered a lot all because of negligence by the doctor, the only thing that can be done now is to help him recover.”  

A spokesperson from the hospital said that a statement regarding the case will be issued today.