Abu Dhabi: An Emirati lawyer at the Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution lost one of his children while vacationing in Malaysia with his family during Ramadan.
Speaking to Gulf News, Counsellor Omar Bkheit Al Gafili told the harrowing tale of how what started as a seemingly harmful cough ended up taking his three-month-old daughter’s life.
The victim Galia’s twin sister, who also seems to have caught a Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a common illness among children, is now being treated at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC). Her condition is stable.
“Galia began coughing slightly when we were at the park. Upon taking her to the nearest hospital, we were given cough medicine and some antibiotics. Her cough worsened and she began having trouble breathing. This is when we went back to the hospital and the doctors only gave us an inhaler. They did not perform any tests,” Al Gafili said.
“The doctor suggested that my daughter be admitted overnight for observation but did not give me a good reason to do so nor did he know what was wrong with her. Once I refused and the Embassy staff came, he claimed that he had urged me to admit her three times — something which I doubt any father would have done,” he added.
Being a legal expert himself, Al Gafili revealed that if a hospital insists that a patient be admitted and their guardian refuses to do so, it is the institution’s legal obligation to present a waiver that clears it of any responsibility.
Although the attorney thanked the role which the UAE Embassy in Malaysia played in supporting him and his family. He believes that his daughter’s death could have been prevented had a medical expert from a third party whom the Embassy trusted been consulted.
“As much as I am grateful for their help, they are still not doctors — all they could do was suggest what could be done but nobody was capable of telling me what was medically wrong with my daughter and how we could have treated her. Even the equipment that the Malaysian hospital gave her was for adults and a children’s emergency ward was unavailable,” he added.
Al Gafili is not planning on suing the hospital.
