ARAR – A Saudi patient who received treatment for epilepsy and psychosis at a private hospital in Jordan has been detained by the hospital because he could not afford the medical bill. The patient's father said his son has been lying at Al-Rasheed Hospital in Amman since November, Al-Watan daily reported Thursday. When he was admitted, he was given proper treatment and put on a rehabilitation program, the father said. According to the medical report written by the treating doctor, a psychology consultant, the patient needed medical follow-up and social care. The father, a retired army officer who supports his family of 10, said his son was born with this condition and he took him to several Ministry of Health hospitals, but his condition did not improve. “My son's health improved when he underwent medical treatment in Jordan.” However, when the hospital required the father to pay for the treatment expenses, which exceeded SR50,000, he could not pay it. The hospital had to put his son in a less expensive room shared by several patients. He sent an urgent telegram and a copy of the medical report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs explaining his situation and his inability to pay the money. He also reported the case to the Saudi Embassy in Amman. “I haven't received any response so far from the embassy and I'm worried to death about my son's condition.” An Al-Watan reporter has tried several times to contact officials at the Saudi Embassy in Jordan, but no one answered the calls.
