A four-year-old boy died on May 20 due to ‘careless’ attitude of medical staff . PHOTO: PPI/FILE
Four-year-old Mujtaba, a resident of Mehmoodabad, was operated on for hypospadias on May 19 at about 11:30am. According to his father, Imran Ali, the child was shifted to a ward at about 1pm instead of to post-operative care in the hospital's intensive care unit.
A doctor attended to Mujtaba after several hours and gave him some medication, he said. When they asked the doctor to shift the child to the ICU, they were refused as there were no beds available, the father claimed. After that, the child was shifted for first aid to the emergency department, where he died on May 20.
Ali had demanded the hospital administration investigate this apparent case of negligence and bring the culprits to justice. He blamed the hospital for his son's death, as there was no attending doctor in the ward where Mujtaba was shifted and said that his son was left unattended for several hours.
Earlier on May 21, Dr Ishrat, Dr Roshan and Dr Maria, along with charge nurses Mumtaz Bibi and Rizwana Parveen, technician Aijaz Kamran and nurse aid Muhammad Fayyaz were suspended for alleged negligence that led to the death of a four-year-old boy after the protest of the father.
Later, an inquiry committee, comprising professor of paediatric medicine Dr Khalid Mahmood A Khan, professor of paediatric surgery Dr Nasir Saleem Saddal and NICH deputy director Dr Arshad Hussain Domki, was formed to investigate the case on a complaint submitted by Ashique Hussain, a charge nurse. According to Dr Khan, the committee recorded the statements of the employees and reviewed CCTV footage.
However, these doctors were asked to rejoin despite the suspension while the committee was still investigating the charges. On May 27, the boy's family protested the doctors' presence at the hospital, challenging the hospital administration's decision to allow them to continue working.
The NICH spokesperson had explained the shortage of doctors at the institute forced the administration to call the suspended doctors in on the second day of their suspension.
On Friday, the inquiry committee finalised its report. Acting on its recommendations, paramedical staff member, Ahmer, was also removed from the job for delaying giving medicine to Mujtaba. Eight members of nursing staff have also been served with a show-cause notice with strict disciplinary action. A warning letter has also been issued to the on-duty anesthetist.
According to Hussain, Mujtaba's parents are satisfied with the committee’s recommendations. "They will no longer file an FIR against the staff."
Published in The Express Tribune, June 4th, 2016.
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