Yemen: Medical Council acquits doctor of causing child's death, fines him for professional violations

Arab Sea Newspaper - Follow-ups

Arabian Sea - Yemen - Follow-ups: The Medical Council in the interim capital, Aden, issued a decision regarding the death of the child Firas Majed Derhem Muhammad, following a tonsillectomy performed on him at Al-Sallahi Clinic in Khor Maksar, under the supervision of Dr. Adel Saleh Fadel Al-Sallahi. The council explained in its decision that the doctor did not commit a direct medical error during the operation, as he adhered to the established scientific rules and principles. However, he committed professional violations, including the absence of accurate documentation of medical procedures and failure to follow up on the case after surgery, in addition to practicing the profession without a license issued by the Medical Council. Based on this, the council imposed disciplinary penalties on the doctor, including a financial fine of 800,000 Yemeni riyals, divided between 500,000 riyals for practicing the profession without a license, and 300,000 riyals for failure to document in the clinical file, in addition to suspending him from work until the licensing procedures are completed. The council also obligated Al-Sallahi Clinic to pay a similar fine (800,000 riyals) for enabling the doctor to work without a license and not obligating him to document, while obligating it to correct the conditions of all its medical staff, obtain practice licenses, and submit a report on this within a month. The council affirmed that these measures are disciplinary in nature and do not exempt doctors or health facilities from any other liabilities or penalties that may be imposed by law. In contrast, medical sources told "Al-Masdar Online" that the child's family did not accept the decision and submitted a formal grievance demanding a review of the case and holding all those responsible for the death accountable. The child's father had reviewed the details of the incident in a video recording, indicating that the operation was performed in August 2024 after he was diagnosed with infections and rheumatism. He later suffered severe bleeding that recurred more than once, and as a result, he was admitted to the hospital several times before he died 16 days after the operation due to complications from arterial bleeding and infections. The father added that his communication with the doctor was limited and later completely cut off, noting that he did not receive any clarification about the causes of the bleeding, and reiterating his demand to open a comprehensive investigation and ensure that those responsible for any professional negligence are held accountable.