Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — No special authority has been set in the Kingdom to save lives of patients who fall victim to gross medical errors despite an unprecedented increase in such cases in the country in recent years, several healthcare experts have said. Concerned authorities are blaming one another for errors that are frequently made even in big hospitals and medical centers, they say. Not a single week passes without news on some or other medical error, not to speak of minor mistakes that people keep silent about. The mistakes occur in the prescription of medicines, the doses, medical tests, surgical operations and wrong diagnoses, Makkah daily reported. The supervisor general of the General Administration for Health Services for Haj and Umrah in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Hussein Ghannam, pointed out the differences between medical errors and medical complications. Medical errors mean the attending doctor has violated rules and principles of professional practice with harm caused to the patient as a result. Medical errors are simple non-professional errors, which have nothing to do with technical knowledge, that occur out of gross negligence. Professional errors are related to principles of practicing the profession. It means that in his professional and technical conduct, the doctor has digressed from the medical rules and principles. This might be due to ignorance, relying solely on one's own judgment in the diagnosis without consulting other professionals and not being well acquainted with technical matters. Other cases include surgical operations resulting from imprecise diagnoses aside from negligence and lack of observation and technical ignorance on surgical procedures. Ghannam said: “Medical errors result in bodily harm to the patient. This results in financial loss, including the costs of treatment, medicines and hospitalization, among others. This is aside from the moral harm and the accompanying psychological effects for the patient and his relatives." Medical errors in the US and Canada range from 5 to 7 percent of hospitalized patients. In Europe, it is between 7 and 11 percent. There are no statistics available on medical errors in the Arab world. Medical complications are not considered medical errors, as they are known as medical complications in the professional conduct. Consultant psychiatrist and director of the Mental Health Center in Makkah Dr. Rajab Brisali said medical errors are the responsibility of the healthcare system. “In my opinion, the responsibility for medical errors should be borne by the peak of the health pyramid and then going down to assistants, directors of health affairs, directors of hospitals, doctors, nurses and those working with them.” He pointed out that dealing with medical errors should be through attracting efficient doctors in all specializations, developing the curricula and faculties of medicine and improving the skills of medical graduates by holding professional seminars and conferences. A specialist in general surgery at King Faisal Hospital in Makkah, Dr. Hatim Khogair, said it is the patient's right to get acquainted with his health condition fully and with transparency. The patient should be informed about all the procedures that are carried out during his treatment in the medical facility. Khogair pointed out that cases involving medical errors have increased on a large-scale lately. This is because of greater public awareness assisted by technological advancement. People know about different kinds of medical errors, whether it is after surgery or during curative intervention.
