Misconducting Doctor: I Jokingly Suggested to Open the Child's Chin Stitches

A doctor at the 'Ashrafi Isfahani' hospital in 'Khomeini Shahr' stated that he jokingly suggested that the stitches on a four-year-old child's chin be opened, and the responsible nurse also claimed that the stitches had opened elsewhere. This was reported by Sajjad Razavi, head of the inspection department at the Ministry of Health, Treatment, and Medical Education, on Tuesday (December 7) based on conversations with the doctor and nurse. Last Saturday, it was revealed that the medical staff at the 'Ashrafi Isfahani' hospital, who had stitched the chin of a four-year-old child, opened the stitches after the child's parents expressed their inability to pay the 150,000 Toman treatment fee. The publication of this report a week later in local media led to widespread reactions, prompting intervention from the judiciary and the Ministry of Health in this medical case. Local media and some official news agencies initially reported the child as a girl, but Hamidreza Talouei, the deputy for treatment at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, stated that the patient was a boy. IRNA news agency reports that the doctor and a nurse, who allegedly opened the child's chin stitches after the parents' inability to pay for treatment, have now been arrested. Youssef Karimi, the deputy prosecutor of Khomeini Shahr in Isfahan, stated on Sunday, December 6, that 'the accused, who are a doctor and a nurse, were sent to the police detention center for further investigation upon the order of the judicial authority.' Sajjad Razavi, head of the inspection department at the Ministry of Health, elaborated on some defenses of the hospital staff in an interview with IRNA and expressed regret over the 'margins' created regarding this incident. He quoted the responsible doctor as saying, 'We do not interfere in financial matters at all, and when the child's mother was constantly moving between the cashier, nursing station, and medical staff, I was busy treating other patients, and because I was being asked many questions about what to do, I jokingly said, 'Nothing; just open the stitches.' The head of the inspection department also added that 'the nurse who attended to this patient denies having opened the stitches and claims that the stitches opened elsewhere or for some other reason.' He stated that expert investigations have determined that 'the patient's stitches have been removed, and even if the doctor and nurse took this action as a joke, they have been suspended from work.' Razavi also mentioned the referral of two other staff members from this hospital to Isfahan University of Medical Sciences for addressing their 'misconduct' and added, 'God willing, the judicial authorities will make the necessary decisions, and the matter will reach its intended goal.' This official expressed regret over reports from some media stating that 'the doctor and nurse intentionally said the patient's stitches should be removed,' saying that these reports are 'not correct.'