A MEDIC found guilty of causing the death of a woman during delivery has had her jail term slashed from a year to six months following appeal.
Another medic involved in the case, who was earlier sentenced for six months, has now been ordered to carry out community service as part of the alternative penalties scheme.
The verdicts were announced yesterday by the High Criminal Court, which also ordered their deportation after punishment.
“According to the victim’s husband, his wife was nine months pregnant and had gone through all her consultations at a private hospital,” the Public Prosecution said in a statement.
“On the day of the tragedy, she felt the onset of labour and was taken to the same hospital, where it was decided to perform a caesarean section.
“The woman delivered the baby, however, she passed away due to bleeding from the operation.
“Her husband added that she was a healthy woman and that the hospital is fully responsible for her death.”
The prosecution stated that it began investigating the report and that the National Health Regulatory Authority (NHRA) was ordered to look into allegations of medical error leading to death.
A specialised NHRA committee reportedly found that the death was indeed caused by medical negligence and insufficient care provided to the victim.
“The first doctor accepted the patient despite the birth being a high-risk delivery as the victim suffered from uterine defects,” the statement said.
“The condition made the patient highly prone to bleeding during operations, and she should have been transferred to a hospital well-stocked with blood bags and more prepared to deal with such conditions.
“The second doctor was late in her decision to remove the uterus, especially as the victim was bleeding profusely and there was not enough blood available to deal with the situation.”
The prosecution questioned the doctors accused of causing the fatal medical error. The medics were on trial at the Lower Criminal Court, which initially sentenced one of them to a year in jail and the other for six months.
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