HFH to probe death of expectant mother

The hospital on Wednesday was rocked by allegations of negligence, which led to the death of a pregnant woman

RAWALPINDI: With the hospital already reeling from a scandal at its pharmacy, the Holy Family Hospital (HFH) on Wednesday was rocked by allegations of negligence which led to the death of a pregnant woman.

The administration of the HFH has formed a four-member committee to probe allegations that negligence of doctors at its gynaecology ward led to the death of a woman late on Tuesday night.

The committee will be headed by the hospital’s additional medical superintendent (AMS)Dr Arshad Ali Khan, the head of Gynecology unit-I, head of the labour room, and in-charge of the nursing staff. They have been tasked to determine under what circumstances did 45-year-old Shakeela, wife of Yasir, die.

The committee has been directed to submit its report within 24 hours to the medical superintendent (MS) of the hospital.Earlier on Tuesday night, relatives of Shakeela had staged a protest outside the gynaecology ward at the hospital after the woman died at around 9:30 pm.

The husband of the deceased woman accused doctors of negligence. He claimed that officials supplied blood to his wife after considerable delay, contributing to her death.

He further alleged that when he and other family members raised a hue and cry over Shakeela’s death, doctors and other hospital staff locked them up in a room.

Meanwhile, a senior doctor at HFH told The Express Tribune that Shakeela was brought to the hospital in good health. He added that the woman was expecting her seventh child.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 27^th, 2017.