Medical malpractice – a growing menace in Pakistan

The paleness of her face was epitome of helplessness and hopelessness. Her crippled limbs were a reflection of how dysfunctional our system is. Her valorous fight spanning 16 days must act as an example for us to challenge the status quo. Otherwise Nashwa would not be the last victim of medical malpractice in Pakistan.

Medical negligence and malpractice is increasingly becoming a common exercise in the country. Something justified by doctors as “out of our hands” and “we are not God”, but failing to do what can be done as a human is what has brought us to this stage. Injecting the accurate dosage of medicine into a nine-month-old’s body is under human control, and so is transfusing blood of the group that matches with the patient’s. Not molesting a patient and instead treating her for toothache is as humanly possible as is aiding a pregnant woman to deliver normally in lieu of earning money in the name of Caesarean section.

Nashwa’s incident is not the first of its kind; this menace has several roots of origination. First is the undisputed contribution of politicians and wealthy families that have entered this ‘business’ in order to untap the hidden potential that can be generated from people’s misery and vulnerability. With no intention of targeting genuinely dedicated private hospitals and clinics, it has to be stated with regret that most of such setups are businesses that hire untrained, unprofessional staff and feel no shame in using expired instruments and medicines in order to avoid high expenditure that would otherwise be spent on giving salaries to professionals and purchasing authentic supplies.

An astonishing string of words inscribed right above ‘Darul Sehat Hospital’, as shown in news, are ‘Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry’ and this is precisely what the next point of origination is. The greed of the influential could not be harnessed until the point of selling death through incompetent paramedical staff and expired medicines; therefore, they thought of taking their business to yet another level by selling degrees to individuals who can later serve their vested interests, whose greed will surpass humanity.

Again, the intention is not to blame all private medical colleges but there is no denying the fact that many, if not most, are operating with literally no merit and are a means for their owners to earn from individuals and their parents who wish to see the prefix ‘Dr’ with their names.

Call it sheer coincidence or an alarming indication, but these cases of medical malpractice occurring in Karachi and Sukkur were accompanied by other pieces of news, most prominently the leaking of intermediate papers all over Sindh. They can get intermediate certificates by cheating; they can secure seats in medical colleges by paying high fees to private setups after not coming on merit despite cheating; and they will be hired by clinics and hospitals, again if not on merit then by such private business that sell death to the people.

But the real cause of the problem is the carefree attitude of those in charge of bettering people’s lives. Those sitting in assemblies are busy in throwing microphones on their fellows and protecting themselves by wearing helmets, but the seriousness to deal with such issues is what’s lacking. While elected assembly members, at both provincial and national levels, are busy in shaming the Premier over his allegedly sexist remarks against a member of the opposition, no one is bothered to consider Nashwa’s case as a matter of national emergency. Perhaps because our representatives are busy in running the state for their own interests, not for the welfare of the people. For all we know, it is negligence at many levels that has led us to this stage.