An Indian mom of two, Betty Rita Fernandes, passed away in Dubai on May 9 at Al Zahra Hospital due to complications allegedly arising after a hip replacement surgery.

Betty, originally from Mumbai, was a chef and ran 'Betty's Cake Tales', a specialty Grocery Store as mentioned on her facebook page.

Earlier, an alleged medical negligence case was reported in UAE last week.

Dr Mohayem Abdelghany, Chief Executive Officer of Al Zahra Hospital, in a statement sent to Khaleej Times said, "In reference to the demise of Betty Rita Fernandes on May 9 after her surgery in Al Zahra Hospital Dubai (AZHD), we have made the family transparently aware of all the developments and ongoing reviews."

"This incident is currently being dealt with multi-level in-depth reviews as per the hospital, Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and Joint Commission International (JCI) guidelines. It was also notified to the relevant authorities and DHA for their independent assessment and review and we will keep the patient's family updated," read the statement.

Responding to Betty's case, the Dubai Health Authority issued a statement saying: "The case is currently under investigation. The DHA looks into every single case of alleged negligence and/or malpractice stringently. The Health Regulation Sector follows due process in line with international standards to investigate such cases, where a committee of subject matter experts is formed to investigate the case. Deemed action is taken according to the merit of each case," said Dr Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of Health Regulation Sector.

Last week, KT reported that a 24-year-old Emirati woman has been in a coma for nearly 20 days after a botched nose surgery that led to a cardiac arrest and brain damage.

The DHA had announced that it has stopped the 'First Med Day Surgery Centre Dubai' - where the surgery took place - from conducting any surgeries until the investigation is complete.

The DHA has also stopped the two doctors, who conducted the surgeries-ENT surgeon, S.H and anesthesia specialist and Medical Director of the Centre, S.D- from practicing, due to malpractice and added that legal action will be taken against all those who risk the lives of patients.

In an updated statement issued today (Sunday), Dr Marwan Al Mulla, CEO of the Health Regulation Sector at the DHA said that the authority is standing by the side of the family of the young Emirati adding that the medical negligence she has suffered will not go unpunished.

Dr Marwan Al Mulla CEO of the Health Regulation Sector at the DHA said that the authority is standing by the side of the family of the young Emirati adding that the medical negligence she suffered will not go unpunished. pic.twitter.com/veS3mvzcoG

— هيئة الصحة بدبي (@DHA_Dubai) 12 May 2019

"The authority is dealing with the case in a transparent manner while taking into consideration the privacy of patients and the confidentiality of the investigation," read the statement.

Complications

However, during surgery she developed complications and her family was asked for a consent for a second surgery with a vascular and general surgeon after the woman had internal bleeding in the pelvic area.

The patient’s family was informed that some kind of packing was placed in the pelvis area to reduce the bleeding after which the patient was to be moved to the ICU and in transit a CT scan was to be carried out.

However, soon after, Fernandes died in the operating theatre at about 5pm, nearly eight hours after she was first wheeled inside the operating room.

When contacted, Dr Mohayem Abdelghany Chief Executive Officer of Al Zahra Hospital [Dubai] said: “We extend our deepest condolences and support to the family of the deceased.

"We are conducting a multi-level independent review of the case as per our hospital policy, the DHA policy and the Joint Commission International (JCI) the international body for patient safety accreditation.

"After we have ascertained the facts, we will notify the police, the forensics, the DHA and the JCI all facts transparently and they will conduct their independent review as per requirement of clinical governance in case of such unexpected outcomes.”

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