Preliminary investigation: No negligence by hospital staff, claims AKUH

Family of deceased man had accused hospital of allegedly overdosing patient

KARACHI: Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) has claimed that preliminary investigation into the death of an elderly patient due to the hospital’s alleged carelessness has not shown any negligence on their part.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the hospital said it will continue to conduct a detailed inquiry into the matter for the next couple of days and discuss the matter with the family. The AKUH spokesperson told The Express Tribune that the hospital takes allegations and complains very seriously, therefore an immediate inquiry was launched into the matter.

The hospital was accused of alleged negligence by the family of the deceased man, in a video that became viral on social media. The son of the patient, who died on Thursday morning, was seen complaining about the AKUH staff’s alleged negligence that reportedly resulted in the death of his father. The people seen in the video are complaining of drug overdose to the patient, after which the patience could not recover and was declared dead by the doctors. The man who identified himself as the son of the patient had claimed in the video that a trainee doctor in the intensive care unit gave his father an overdose of an injection, which was supposed to be of 4mg but the given dose was 40mg.

The hospital denied from sharing the contact and the identity of the patient or his attendant, including hospital staff because it is against the policy of the hospital to share any such details. Meanwhile, the family of the deceased patient is not willing to talk. A relative of the family told The Express Tribune that the family is not willing to speak to the media.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2017.