Lawmakers submit 2 resolutions, 5 adjournments

MPAs raised several issues, including negligence and lack of privacy in labour rooms in hospitals

LAHORE: Lawmakers from both the opposition and treasury benches submitted five adjournment motions and two resolutions in the Punjab Assembly on Wednesday to discuss various issues including patient privacy and negligence in hospitals, and action against drug peddlers.

Pakistan Muslim League-Qauid’s Chaudhary Amir Sultan Cheema submitted an adjournment motion against some young doctors who allegedly tortured four young men who had come to Jinnah Hospital to donate blood. He said that the doctors thrashed donors and later handed them over to police, saying they were robbers. “The young boys were educated and came to donate blood, they were not thieves,” said Cheema.



PTI legislator Sadia Sohail Rana submitted a resolution, demanding a ban on the use of mobile phones and presence of male staff in labour rooms at hospitals.



She said a picture of a half-naked woman went viral on social media in which doctors were taking a selfie while the woman as lying in bed. Rana demanded strict action against the responsible doctors.

Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Hina Pervez Butt also submitted an adjournment motion against drug peddling in hostels, hospitals and educational institutions. According to a report published in a newspaper, some banned organisations, after targeting educational institutions have now started selling drugs in male and female hostels in educational institutions, she said.



“Smugglers are bringing heroin, crystal hashish, opium, and other drugs from Afghanistan and selling them in hostels, medical colleges and hospitals of Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and other cities,” she said. “These drugs are also being sold in various areas of Lahore, including Defense and Johar Town in connivance with police and management of the institutions.”

PTI’s Malik Taimoor Masood in his adjournment motion sought strict action against the management of a hospital which placed and treated a patient on a bed where a deceased patient was already lying. It was completely unethical, Masood said, adding that a living person should not share a bed with a dead person.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 20^th, 2017.