Abdullah Aal Hatilah Okaz/Saudi Gazette JEDDAH – Dr. AbdulAziz Al-Nekhailan, director of Hail General Hospital, told Okaz that he had not requested the administration at the hospital to relieve him of his post. Al-Nekhailan said that he was ready to serve as a doctor anywhere. Al-Nekhailan also said that the bureaucratic procedures of the Directorate of Health Affairs had made it impossible for him to do his work and further develop the hospital, which is why he wanted to be relieved of his post. In a phone call to an Okaz official, Al-Nekhailan said the directorate was fully aware of the hospital's problems and medical errors, yet it did nothing about it. He further talked about the false promises the directorate gave him – to release SR10 million approved by the Minister of Health to develop the hospital. Every time Al-Nekhailan called the directorate to inquire about the status of the fund, he received the same answer “it's still under study." Thus, out of desperation, he called the director of health affairs and briefed him on the hospital's needs. Although the health affairs director gave instructions to his officials to take care of this matter – which threatened innocent lives – but nothing materialized. Al-Nekhailan said he had copies of official correspondence between him and the directorate which prove his statements. Commenting on the medical error committed at the hospital a few weeks ago that resulted in a miscarriage of a pregnant woman, Al-Nekhailan said the Medical Committee in the region is still studying the case and will decide the proper type of penalty. When asked why he let the nurse who made the mistake stay in the hospital, Al-Nekhailan said he is not responsible for such decisions. He said the level and quality of work at the hospital drastically decreased after 90 non-Saudi nurses were replaced with Saudi ones. “It was difficult for us to train them all at the same time. So we decided to do that in groups." Al-Nekhailan said he will not change his decision regarding his resignation, especially in the light of the current situation. Nawaf Al-Harthy, Director of Health Affairs in Hail, said he was surprised that Al-Nekhailan made his resignation publicly through the media and the time he chose for it. Al-Harthy said Al-Nekhailan proved that he was not capable of correcting the mistakes that occurred at the hospital despite the support given to him by all responsible officials at the directorate. Al-Harthy has decided to appoint Muhammad Hamdan Al-Shammary as the new director — a pharmacist with a master's degree in clinical pharmacy.
