A group of doctors, nurses and paramedics at a major hospital in Bahrain are facing criminal charges for abandoning their call of duty and hijacking medical facilities during anti-government protests.

Several doctors, among them consultants and other specialists, were found to have been covering up crimes committed at Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC).

Others even committed criminal acts and hid sharp weapons in secret hideouts.

The revelations came as 23 doctors as well as 23 nurses and care providers were being investigated and would be transferred to court next week on charges of committing 'atrocious crimes'.

Information Affairs Authority (IAA) President Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa said on Wednesday that it was highly deplorable that such crimes were perpetrated by people who called themselves doctors, nurses and noble practitioners.

"Nevertheless, they will all be provided with legal guarantees as stipulated by the Bahraini laws and international human rights standards," he told a Press conference.

Some of the medical and paramedical staff implicated in criminal acts and use of weapons worked as cells to support the illegitimate demands of the saboteurs and the calls to bring down the political regime.

"They used the facilities of SMC and turned it into a base for tension and to carry out illegal acts and cover up crimes," said Shaikh Fawaz.

"For instance, this group of people imposed full control over all the wards and departments of the hospital and hid sharp weapons in secret hideouts. This is in addition to using armed groups wielding sharp weapons to guard the hospital entry and exit points, withholding information and covering up for people wanted by security agencies.”

"They also performed unnecessary surgical acts on some protesters to dramatise their wounds and stir public opinion, an act that caused the death of one person. They also used ambulances to transport weapons and protesters,” he added.

It was also earlier announced that 30 Health Ministry employees would appear before the Public Prosecution to face legal charges after an investigation committee submitted recommendations to Acting Health Minister Dr Fatima Al Balooshi.

They have already been suspended from work following the recent incidents, which crippled health services.

In one case, a senior ambulance official, who has been reportedly suspended pending investigation, was found to have been actively conniving with staff and allowed ferrying of protesters to and from the GCC Roundabout in ambulances.

He also reportedly deliberately ignored ambulances being used to carry equipment from the hospital to the roundabout.

Sources said the official had recently returned from a four-year scholarship overseas, where he underwent an advanced training course at the government's expense.

One of the doctors, who is now on a three-month suspension, is being investigated for taking part in protests, refusing medical aid to those who needed it and for not coming to work for several days, the sources said.

A senior nurse is also facing charges for having neglected her duties at the hospital and instead taking part in protests. She is also charged with instigating her colleagues to take part in protests and to stay away from work.

Other doctors have been charged with violating medical ethics by deliberately harming patients.

Instigating

Dr Al Balooshi said earlier that medical licences of 30 doctors and nurses had been suspended, while a further 150 were under investigation for their actions during a month-long occupation of SMC by anti-government protesters.

She said those responsible had neglected their medical duties and conducted illegal acts on patients and revealed two protesters died after medical staff actually made their existing wounds worse to exaggerate their injuries for news cameras.

She also said doctors and nurses deliberately harmed patients who had been admitted for emergency treatment. – TradeArabia News Service