A man accused a private medical center here of causing the death of his son, Salim, who was being treated there for leukemia. Faris Al-Hallabi says the center - specialized in tumors and blood diseases and located on a well-known street here - is unlicensed and was banned by authorities from administering chemotherapy because it lacked the necessary equipment. “I admitted my son in March 2008 and he was treated by the doctor who owns the center. Not long after, my son was referred to the assistant doctor, who is not specialized in blood diseases,” Al-Hallabi said. He added that nurses, who lacked sufficient experience, gave his son sessions of chemotherapy, after which Salim suffered severe exhaustion before he died. “One day before he died on March 5, 2009, I took him to the medical center where the doctor refused to receive him and told me to take him to the King Fahd Hospital emergency room just to get me out of the clinic,” Al-Hallabi said. “The doctor at the center once drew blood from my son's body using a needle that was on the table and was not sterilized,” he said. “At times, the doctor delayed my son's treatment sessions because of a lack of beds or because I was not up to date with my payments to the center,” he added. Al-Hallabi appealed to the authorities to investigate the case in order to expose those doctors “who are blinded by greed.” The director of medical licenses at Jeddah Health Affairs, Dr. Mahmoud Abduljawwad, said complaints which the health ministry receives are referred to the relevant committees to investigate the validity of information by forming a subcommittee comprising doctors and qualified members to investigate in the field. After which, those who are accused are referred to the appropriate penal committee, he said.
