PETALING JAYA: A mother is demanding answers from authorities after her child suffered a seizure following an alleged 11-hour wait for treatment at Hospital Melaka’s Emergency and Trauma Department.
Siti Aishah Rahim, 27, said her daughter, aged one year and 10 months, was brought to the hospital around 2.30pm last Saturday after developing a high fever.
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Although a blood sample was taken when they arrived, Siti Aishah claimed no follow-up checks were carried out, even as her daughter’s temperature soared to 40°C.
“I was devastated. It felt like my child’s life was being treated as if it didn’t matter,” the mother said.
She added that while her child was placed in the green zone — typically for non-critical patients — no medical staff came to assess her daughter’s worsening condition.
“I wouldn’t have minded if there had been some response, but no nurse or assistant came to check on my child or even asked about her condition or checked her temperature.
“Thankfully, I brought a digital thermometer from home and checked her myself. When I saw the reading, I sponged her body repeatedly in the toilet while waiting to be called for treatment,“ she told New Straits Times.
Her daughter only received emergency care after beginning to convulse around 1am the next day.
The child was later diagnosed with an adenovirus infection, which affects the lungs, digestive tract and eyes.
The mother said her daughter remains weak and has not fully recovered, though antibiotics have been prescribed.
She has since lodged a complaint and shared a video of the incident on Facebook, hoping to prevent similar experiences for other families.
“The hospital director and Melaka Health Department officials visited us this morning. They apologised and promised to investigate. I’m now waiting for an official response to the complaint I submitted,” she said.
In response, State Health, Human Resources and Unity Committee chairman Datuk Ngwe Hee Sem confirmed he has directed an immediate investigation.
“I have already contacted the state health director (Dr Ruzita Mustaffa) and asked for an urgent investigation.
“This matter has not been fully investigated yet, so we don’t know the cause. I will update the media once the findings are available,“ he said.
