Senior citizen at HTAR died due to Covid-19, not negligence, says Selangor Health Dept

KLANG: The senior citizen who died at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital (HTAR) after being admitted for Covid-19 treatment had several comorbidities, says the Selangor Health Department.

State Health director Datuk Dr Sha’ari Ngadiman said the 69-year-old woman was brought in with Category 4 Covid-19 on Oct 25, 2021 and died due to complications caused by the infection on Oct 28, 2021.

He added that family members of the deceased had lodged a complaint about the matter through the ministry’s Public Complaints Management System (SisPAA) on Jan 13, 2022.

“HTAR had welcomed the complaint and had investigated the matter at various levels based on the Health Ministry’s guidelines.

“However, up to now, the deceased’s next-of-kin are not ready to attend a meeting with HTAR,’’ said Dr Sha’ari.

He added the ministry would contact the complainant to arrange a meeting to explain to the results of the investigations.

“The next-of-kin can also contact HTAR, the state Health Department or the ministry’s medical practice division if they require further information on how the complaint had been managed.

Dr Sha’ari said the Health Ministry, through the Selangor Health Department, had taken note of Klang MP Charles Santiago’s letter pertaining to the death of the senior citizen.

In the letter addressed to Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin, Santiago said the woman's family suspected she had died due to medical negligence.

Santiago added that due to dissatisfaction with the answers they received, the deceased’s family lodged reports with (SisPAA), the Malaysian Medical Council, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia and the police.

“The family had come to know that the investigations had been completed and the report already sent to the state Health Department as well as the Health Ministry’s medical practice division.

"However, the family has yet to receive a copy of the report,’’ said Santiago.

Santiago urged Khairy to forward a copy of the investigation report to the deceased’s family as soon as possible.

He also said in the event there was negligence involved in the death, action should be taken to prevent a repeat of the incident as well as to ensure the senior citizen’s family received due justice for the death of the loved one.