The sister of the deceased Jordanian-American pilot has complained of negligence against Dhaka’s United Hospital

Updated an hour ago

A Jordanian-American pilot died due to the negligence of a reputed private hospital in Dhaka, his sister has alleged.

His sister Tala Ilhendi Josephano alleged that Gulf Air pilot Mohammad Yusuf Hasan Al Hendi was not given timely and proper treatment even after he was admitted to United Hospital in Dhaka due to heart attack.

US resident Tala Ilhendi said he came to Bangladesh to seek justice for his brother’s murder. They are both Jordanian-US dual citizens.

“I have come all this way to Bangladesh only to seek justice for my brother’s murder. My brother was a victim of mistreatment and murder,” said Tala Ilhendi.

He has announced to take legal action against Gulf Air and United Hospital in this incident.

However, in a statement protesting the allegations, the United Hospital authorities claimed that the allegations of mistreatment and medical negligence were “completely false and fabricated.”

Tala Ilhendi Josephano, a dual citizen of the United States and Jordan, came to Bangladesh a few days ago to get clear information about the death of his brother.

He held a press conference in Dhaka on Monday. There, he said, his brother, Gulf Airlines pilot Mohammad Youssef Hassan Al Hendi, was a healthy person. When he went to Hazrat Shahjalal Airport on December 14th at 3:30 AM to operate a flight from his hotel in Dhaka.

He was admitted to United Hospital when he suffered a heart attack during the immigration process.

Tala Ilhendi alleged three more heart attacks after her brother was admitted to United Hospital at 5:30 am. But even after admission to the emergency department of the hospital, no cardiologist attended and proper treatment of his heart condition was not started.

“An hour and 25 minutes after the first cardiac arrest, they could not administer proper treatment to bring my brother back to consciousness. They could not even refer a cardiologist for proper consultation,” he alleged.

“My brother was left without medical care for two and a half hours when he went into cardiac arrest for the third time. That means he was deprived of treatment….When my brother was brought to the hospital in critical condition, there was no cardiologist there. Instead, he was treated by an inexperienced junior consultant. Who was not qualified to handle such a situation. They tried to manipulate the patient’s documents,” he alleged.

He alleged that 80 percent of the tests conducted on pilot Yusuf Hasan after his admission to United Hospital were not necessary. There were no specialist doctors in the emergency department. By prolonging the treatment in this way, he is pushed towards a critical condition.

Even when the family was approached for permission for surgery, they were not informed of the patient’s true picture and risks.

“When they contacted us, they did not inform us of the exact situation. Not even properly told about the risks,” said Tala Ilhendi.

Mohammed Youssef Hassan Al Hendi, a Jordanian-American citizen, lived in Bahrain with his wife and two children.

Tala Ilhendi alleged that the United Hospital authorities did not provide the pilot brother’s medical information and documents even after seeking them. Instead, he alleged that the hospital’s CCTV and documents were tampered with.

Due to these negligence, he announced that he will take criminal action against United Hospital. He also demanded to cancel the license of the hospital.

Several serious allegations have been made against United Hospital in the past.

Earlier, on the night of May 27, 2020, five patients died in a fire in the corona unit built outside the main building of United Hospital. The police investigation committee blamed the hospital authorities’ negligence in the incident. A relative of the deceased filed a case of wrongful death in that incident. In that incident, the High Court ordered compensation of 30 lakh rupees to the families of five patients.

The previous month, a patient’s relative had complained that his mother was discharged despite being on ventilation after testing positive for Covid-19 while undergoing treatment.

Tala Ilhendi Josefano alleged that his brother, pilot Mohammad Youssef Hassan Al Hendi, who worked for Middle East-based Gulf Airlines, was also dereliction of duty after he fell ill.

He complained, “Gulf Air has not sent any official to the hospital to act as a guardian in the absence of the family.” Gulf Air did not appear to take any steps to ensure proper treatment of my brother.”

He said that he has already initiated legal action against Gulf Air in Bahrain.

Although Tala Ilhendi Josefano said that he has been in contact with United Hospital authorities for the past few days, United Hospital told BBC Bangla that they came to know about Tala Ilhendi’s complaint through a press conference.

In a later statement, United Hospital said that Mohammed Yousuf Al Hendi was brought to the hospital in a coma at around 5:30 am on December 14. His colleagues said, as he was unconscious, CPR was given for four to five minutes at the airport considering his cardiac arrest.

He was rushed to the intensive care unit after his condition worsened after being treated by United Hospital’s emergency department doctors.

It said, “About a month and a half after the incident, a lady identified herself as Mohammad Yousuf Al Hindi’s sister and asked for CCTV footage from the day of the incident and medical records containing the patient’s personal details. As per the hospital’s rules, we have provided the hospital with proof of her identity and relationship with the patient. Please apply for the information. He has not contacted us since then.”

Professor Asit Baran Adhikari, head of cardiac surgery department of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, tells BBC Bangla, “After a heart attack or when a patient comes to the hospital with a heart attack, an ECG is done first. This makes the patient’s condition clear. After that, some medicines are given to remove the blood clots in the patient’s blood vessels.

After that, when the patient’s condition is somewhat stable, an angiogram is done to see how much blockage has formed in the artery. Based on that, a decision is made regarding further treatment.

“But if the patient’s condition is not stable, doctors often don’t want to take the risk,” he says.

But regardless of the patient’s condition, the relatives have the right to get all the information about the patient’s treatment and give their opinion, he said.