JEDDAH, 16 April 2004 — Health Affairs in Makkah have denied a report by Okaz newspaper that the Maternity Hospital turned away an expatriate emergency patient.

“Everything in the Okaz report was untrue,” the department said in a statement faxed to Arab News following an investigation.

Okaz had reported that an African woman was taken by ambulance to the hospital but the duty doctor refused to admit her even though she had gone into labor.

Though she was unconscious and despite pleas from hospital personnel, the doctor refused to admit her, the report said.

Her husband became violent and had to be removed by police, it said, adding a man volunteered to have the woman taken to a private hospital at his own expense.

But Health Affairs said the woman, a Nigerian, arrived at the emergency room with her husband at 11:45 Thursday night, complaining of minor stomach pains.

A doctor examined her and found that her vital signs were normal and that there was no sign of bleeding or imminent delivery.

The doctor said her situation did not warrant admittance and advised her to go home, the statement said.

He asked her to go to a private hospital when her contractions started since she was not eligible for treatment in a public hospital.

But the woman returned to the hospital by ambulance at 2:30 a.m. on Friday. She was again examined by the on-duty doctor who found the situation unchanged. She left and returned again at 3:45 a.m. on Friday, again by ambulance, and was again found to be fine.

“The patient went to a private hospital on Sunday at 4:30 and gave birth, two days after she was examined at the Maternity Hospital. This proves that this was not a case of emergency,” the statement said.

It said the hospital’s on-duty emergency administrator began investigating after receiving a call from Health Affairs, who had been contacted by security.

He also found that there had been no altercation with the woman’s husband.