Man accuses Ungoofaaru Hospital of negligence, after wife and child die

Ali Fayaz, a native of R. Vaadhoo, took his wife – who was heavily pregnant with their first child – to the Ungoofaaru Regional Hospital on September 14, to treat her for fever. But with his wife and child now dead, he and their family point the finger of blame at the hospital.

Sharing his experience, Fayaz told Sun that his wife, Mariyam Saniya (Mary), 35, was initially treated at the Vaadhoo Health Center after she suffered a fever. But due to her high pulse, she was moved to the Ungoofaaru Hospital on September 14.

Citing her pregnancy, the hospital refused to give her medication, and subscribed her hydration packets instead. And they began monitoring her hourly urine output.

“On the 16th, they told us she would be discharged the next morning. They said her condition was improving. And that the only thing they had yet to receive was the blood test report,” said Fayaz.

But that night, the Ungoofaaru Hospital administered an injection. When the family asked, the doctor said it was a painkiller.

The same night, the nurses asked Fayaz to transfer Mary to a gynecology ward.

“We told them she’s supposed to get discharged tomorrow. And asked why she is being transferred to the ward. They said it was difficult to monitor her there due to her pregnancy,” he said.

But instead of the gynecology ward, the hospital moved her to the surgical ward.

That night, Mary began to experience stomach pain and developed a cough. The hospital administered IV fluids for the stomach pain.

“They didn’t check on the baby’s condition after she was moved to the ward on the 16th. They didn’t check the baby’s heartbeat. She was coughing up blood throughout. They would touch her stomach and say it wasn’t contractions,” he said.

At this point, Fayaz asked the hospital to remove the baby via c-section.

“The gynecologist said my wife will get stronger after medication and can give birth naturally. They told me not to worry,” he said.

The next day, Mary’s condition deteriorated and they initiated the process to transfer her to Male’. As the family tried to arrange Aasandha coverage, the hospital asked permission for her to be put on a ventilator.

As the doctors attempted to put Mary on a ventilator, her heart stopped and they did CPR. The doctors said Mary’s oxygen level dropped.

The same night, doctors told Fayaz they would need to perform an emergency c-section.

“They said the mother’s condition was very serious. But I told them to do the c-section before her condition deteriorated. I signed the document consenting to the c-section at around 10:00 pm that night,” he said.

But the hospital didn’t start performing the c-section until much later. Fayaz was then told that the baby died.

“At around 01:00 am, they told me to come see the baby if I want. The baby was dead, and the body was left to harden whichever way. The person who came to perform the rites for burial asked me what they had done to the baby. The baby’s body was bent and hardened,” he said.

Fayaz then tried to get his wife transferred to Male’. But he said he faced challenges from the hospital in arranging Aasandha.

Upon arrival in Male’, the ambulance from Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) that came to pick up Mary came equipped only with a wheelchair.

“IGMH said they weren’t aware the patient was on a ventilator. They said they weren’t ready to treat a ventilator patient,” he said.

He took Mary to the Tree Top Hospital.

“The next day, the Tree Top Hospital said that Mary’s brain, heart and kidney wasn’t functioning when she was brought in,” he said.

Mary was on a ventilator at the Tree Top Hospital since September 19. Fayaz said that he faced difficulty getting the discharge summary from the Ungoofaaru Hospital – which the Tree Top Hospital requested – and had to involve a lawyer.

After the death of their only child. Today, Fayaz had to hear the news of his beloved wife. The family holds the Ungoofaaru Hospital responsible for both deaths.

The Ungoofaaru Hospital was not immediately available for comment regarding the case.

It is not the first time the hospital has been accused of negligence.