Abbottabad's Ayub hospital admin likely to face action

Some say expired medicines’ was a plot to malign ATH’s reputation

ABBOTTABAD: The provincial drug authorities have recommended disciplinary action against the management of Ayub Teaching Hospital in Abbottabad after expired medicines were recovered from the emergency ward, official sources said on Monday.

A team of health officials, led by K-P additional health secretary, conducted a surprise visit to the ATH on August 19. They seized some expired lifesaving drugs from the medical facility.



“We have recommended action be taken action against the medical director and the responsible officials,” provincial drug inspector Syed Aqib Shah told The Express Tribune.

He said the recovery of expired medicines from the drug tray at the emergency department is a matter of serious concern and in violation of the Drugs Act 1976. He said using expired drugs is harmful for patients, adding the administration is bound to replace expired medicines. However, the negligence of hospital staff and management has put the lives of patients at risk.

Meanwhile, when approached for comments, a senior doctor from the administration department said an internal enquiry has already been launched to determine how the injections found their way into the ward.

However, other officials from the medical facility claim this was a plot to malign ATH’s reputation.

Meanwhile, doctors of the hospital observed a token strike against the delay in finding the killers of their colleague. They suspended health care services in the Outpatient Department (OPD) for two hours, but the casualty ward and operation theatres were manned by staff.



Led by Provincial Doctors Association President Dr Aminullah, the doctors went on strike on Monday. Wearing black armbands, the doctors took a round of the hospital and medical college, shouting slogans against the police and provincial government. Speaking on the occasion, Aminullah condemned the murder of Dr Daud. He added that in spite of a lapse of 12 days, the police remained clueless in the case.

He said the PTI government had been making tall claims about police reforms, but the lack of progress in Abbottabad tells a different story. The practitioners warned that if Daud’s killer was not arrested within the next seven days, they would go on a province-wide strike.

Meanwhile, the police claim to have traced a phone number and collected some evidence, but Daud’s family is not cooperating with them. However, they insist the murderers will be brought to justice soon. Daud was a training medical officer at the paediatrics ward at ATH. He was found dead in his bedroom at a private hostel cum hospital in Abbottabad on August 10.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23^rd, 2016.