HMC rules out medical error in baby girl's case aired on radio

Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) Tuesday clarified there was no medical error in the treatment of a baby girl at Al Sadd Paediatric Emergency Center. HMC was responding to a complaint aired by the baby's parents through Qatar Radio programme, Watani al-Habib. The radio presenter had said: “A nurse's mistake at Al Sadd emergency center causes damage to a baby girl’s brain and heart.” The HMC response is as follows: "First of all, Hamad Medical Corporation wishes a speedy recovery to the baby girl mentioned in the complaint and for all patients. The Corporation assures that the best medical care is provided according to internationally accredited quality levels in the Paediatric Emergency Center and all its facilities and hospitals. We would also like to emphasise the interest of the Ministry of Public Health in ensuring professional performance in all governmental and private medical facilities. All patients' complaints are monitored and investigated in all earnestness to ensure patients’ rights and improve performance. "Through the baby girl’s medical file review, it was found that she was brought to the Paediatric Emergency Center on December 27, 2021 at 14:30, with high temperature, crying and poor breastfeeding. She was admitted to the observation department and all necessary examinations conducted in line with internationally approved treatment protocols. The girl's condition remained stable, and her vital signs were in the normal range, and she was under medical observation. But at about 16:15, the girl's breathing stopped suddenly, which required rapid medical intervention, and the pulse returned after 10 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). "During the insertion of the breathing tube into the trachea, a quantity of milk was released, which confirms that the reason for the sudden cessation of her breathing is the occurrence of severe reflux from the oesophagus into the trachea, which led to suffocation. "The laboratory results of the girl's spinal cord fluid sample, which was taken by the consultant physician, showed the presence of a virus that led to an infection in the brain tissue. We would also like to confirm there is no mistake by the nurse when attaching an intravenous feeding tube on the baby girl’s body. It was attached when she was brought to the observation department about an hour before the aforementioned sudden respiratory arrest. Therefore, the tube was installed correctly."