FIR against five for beating doctor

Child’s family attack doctor for not being allowed in examination room.

MIANWALI:

The Mianwali district coordination officer (DCO) has ordered the registration of an FIR against people involved in manhandling and injuring a doctor at a local DHQ hospital on Friday.

The DHQ hospital issued the medico-legal report of Dr Sharjeel who was injured by relatives of a patient claiming that they were close associates of a local MPA.

DHQ medical superintendent Abdul Qadir was monitoring the treatment of a snake bite patient, Amanatullah, on Thursday night but in the meantime Dr Sharjeel was badly beaten and injured by the paitent’s relatives.

“The child was in serious condition but we were treating him. My colleague was beaten by the child’s family because he refused to let them into the operating room,” Qadir said.

“It is the procedure to not allow family members in the examination room but the child’s family was hysterical,” he said.

PMA Mianwali Dr Shehr Gul Khan told reporters that he regretted the increasing violence against doctors.

“I do not sympathise with violence meted out by the relatives of patients on the assumed grounds that the treatment was poor or slow. District hospitals are short staffed and under funded and doctors do the best they can. There is no excuse for family members to act like hooligans, especially since in this case the child was being treated,” he said.

He called for strict safety measures for doctors at all public sector hospitals, especially those serving in the emergency wards.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2011.