Gulf Air pilot Captain Mohannad Yusuf Al Hindi fell ill after arriving in Bangladesh on a flight and was admitted to the United Hospital in Dhaka, where he died due to wrong treatment and negligence. This is what the pilot’s sister Tala Elhendi claimed in a press conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity on Monday. He mentioned in the press conference that when he came to Bangladesh and asked for the necessary documents from the United Hospital, he was not cooperated and submitted the documents late but fraud was committed there. He basically sought justice by taking appropriate criminal action against United Hospital for killing him and demanded cancellation of United Hospital’s license. He also mentioned that even his employer Gulf Air could not ensure his treatment on time.
Both siblings are dual citizens of the United States and Jordan. Brother Yusuf Al Hindi was a pilot for Golf Air. And sister Tala Elhendi worked for the British government. After the unexpected death of his brother, he rushed to Bangladesh. On investigation, United Hospital and Gulf Air have found various evidences of negligence on the part of the authorities. Tala Elhendi presented the details of this unexpected accident in a press conference on December 22 last year.
He said that he was at Meridian Hotel in Dhaka on the day of the incident. He was scheduled to operate a Gulf Air flight early in the morning. He got up at 3:30 a.m. and got ready for the flight. Then he started the process of immigration at Hazrat Shahjalal Airport around 4:10 AM. Then he fell. At that time he was helpless. There was no response from him. My brother had his first cardiac arrest at the airport. He then received five minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Gradually his blood pressure started to deteriorate. He was then sent to United Hospital.
Tala Elhendi said she was drugged and put to sleep during the treatment process. The hospital authority said, my brother was treated by Dr. Kaiser Nasir. But in the medical documents submitted to my brother’s family, his name was not found. According to the report, my brother had asthma. When asked about it, they said it was omitted by mistake. Cardiologist was consulted over the phone. He was not physically present to the patient.
“My brother was shifted to CCM at 6:30 in the morning,” he complained. It is called Cardiac Care Unit. At least one cardiologist and immediate specialist services were needed to provide medical care to the at-risk patient. But unskilled doctors have neglected. A unit was set up for cardiology care but there was no cardiologist.
He said, my brother had a second cardiac arrest at 7:30 in the morning. He had a third cardiac arrest after 20 minutes. My brother had three cardiac arrests in a span of two hours. The cardiac specialist unit of this most popular hospital in Dhaka city has again failed to contact any cardiologist. Which is nothing but sheer and gross negligence of CCM workers. The only action they took was 15 minutes of CPR with ARSC. My brother went into cardiac arrest for the third time and was left without medical care for over two and a half hours. That is, he was deprived of proper treatment. Tala Elhendi said.
He said, after deciding on conservative management treatment, the doctor gave my brother Heparin sodium 5000IU injection. It is given to stop blood clotting. It also became clear that there was no cardiologist attending the patient. Therefore, the advice of general staff except specialist doctors was grossly negligent.
“At 11:30 a.m., my brother had his fourth and final cardiac arrest during treatment,” said Tala Elhendi. He was given CPR for 45 minutes. He died soon after the TPM was implanted. Hospital authorities claim, Dr. Kaiser Nasir processed these. But whether he is a cardiologist; Not clear either. Because his name is not mentioned in the medical documents. The hospital authorities claimed that it was a mistake. They said that a senior consultant (Dr. Qaiser Ullah and other consultants) did the angiogram. But their names are not in the report. And when asked why there is no summary report, they said, these are internal documents. A cardiologist advised my brother’s treatment but he was not physically present at the hospital.
“I have investigated the entire matter and found that CCTV footage and hospital documents have been tampered with,” he said. Besides, when I was searching, the hospital staff also scared me. On January 26, 2023, I sought medical records and CCTV footage from United Hospital. But to manipulate the evidence they took three days to give these.
Tala Elhendi said, when I wanted to know from them, they made fun of me and used rudeness. After that they gave me detailed documents after threatening to take legal action and inform the embassy about it. But they took three days for this. At this time all the documents have been manipulated. They hide some information, add others. They claimed that these documents were the property of the hospital but delayed giving them to me by saying that they were with another doctor. They said, the documents will be submitted to me as soon as the doctor is free. Thus they kept me waiting for three days. Even after a long delay they gave me 20 pages of the patient’s heart rate test. But it did not have proper cardiology report or treatment details.
“When I went to the hospital and searched, I found that there was no cardiologist in the Cardiac Care Unit (CCU),” he said. But there my brother was kept for a long time after admission. I contacted doctors in the US to get expert advice on this. They said, according to the rules, my brother should have been taken to the emergency room within hours, but it took six hours at United Hospital. On investigation I found that the hospital authorities later falsified documents to prove that CAG was done. Due to which they have shown undue delay and excuses in giving the documents.
Tala Elhendi claims Gulf Air was also negligent in her brother’s treatment. He said, my brother became unconscious after cardiac arrest. He remained in that state till his death. This happened while he was boarding a Gulf Air flight. He was a pilot of this flight. He fell unconscious while performing his duties. So it was the responsibility of the Gulf Air authorities to ensure that he received proper treatment. Also, my brother’s past medical history with Gulf Air should have been submitted to United Hospital. But they didn’t. Gulf Air did not send an official to the hospital to act as a guardian in the absence of the family. But 10 minutes later, a Gulf Air flight led by my brother as a pilot with 500 passengers was scheduled to take off. Had he fallen ill during the flight, the lives of 500 passengers could have been at risk. But Gulf Air did not seem to take any steps to ensure proper treatment of my brother.
He underwent various tests including a CT scan which was unnecessary for a heart attack patient and wasted a lot of time. Tala thinks these are done to increase hospital costs.
At the end of the press conference, Tala Elhendi made several demands. He said, I want the full and clean report and CCTV footage of my brother’s hospitalization and treatment. As a sister of the patient/victim I would like to know the treatment status of my brother. I have the right to know through whom this has happened. The hospital says my brother’s medical records are confidential documents. They tampered with the medical documents. There is nothing illegal or unethical in getting hold of my brother’s immaculate documents. Exemplary fine or compensation is sought to prevent recurrence of such crimes. They basically killed my brother. So I want justice by taking appropriate criminal action against United Hospital and finally demand cancellation of license of United Hospital.
