Doctor sends boy to the morgue alive

Mish’al Al-Otaibi
Saudi Gazette

RIYADH — A Saudi doctor at a local hospital here was accused of making a terrible medical mistake when he sent a boy who sustained serious injuries in a traffic accident to the mortuary while he was still alive.

The doctor informed the boy’s family that he and his colleagues did all they could do to save the boy but he died while undergoing chest surgery.

The boy’s relatives made arrangements for his funeral prayer at Al-Rajhi Mosque in eastern Riyadh Sunday afternoon.

A few hours after the boy’s death was announced, another person died in the hospital and his body was taken to the morgue. While placing the body in the morgue, hospital personnel noticed signs of life in the boy’s body. They rushed him to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

Medical checkups confirmed the boy was alive. Hospital authorities immediately informed the boy’s relatives who returned to the hospital in anger and astonishment.

On hearing the shocking news, the boy’s mother collapsed and had to be admitted to the hospital. The boy’s relatives said the medical team should not go unpunished for the blatant error.