The families of persons in injured in the bomb blast near Maskan Chowrangi on Wednesday have accused the administration of a private hospital where victims were shifted of asking for advanced payments for treatment, in violation of the Sindh Injured Persons Compulsory Medical Treatment (Amal Umer) Act, 2019.
Under the law, all hospitals are bound to provide compulsory medical treatment to injured persons immediately, without demanding any payment.
According to the victims' families, the hospital's management delayed the provision of treatment, demanding advance payments prior to administering the required treatment.
However, treatment was started after Sindh health secretary Dr Kazim Jatoi and Sindh health department director Dr Nadeem Sheikh reached the hospital and reminded the management that the expenses for the treatment were to borne by the provincial government.
Later, Dr Sheikh told The Express Tribune that he would be monitoring the blast victims' treatment.
However, the Patel Hospital denied the accusations, claiming them to be false, while responding to the allegations levelled against them in a statement.
"We categorically state that all patients were treated without any of them being asked for any kind of payment. This includes all the tests and CT scanning as well as multiple and complex surgical procedures," the statement read.
The hospital further claimed that "all the emergencies were dealt with very swiftly", and that "a detailed press conference will held tomorrow (today)".
The Amal Umer Act
The Sindh Assembly had promulgated the legislation in question for providing medical aid and treatment to any injured person before the completion of medico-legal formalities.
It was called for after 10-year-old Amal Umer was killed by a stray bullet during a police shootout with robbers in August, 2018. Umer later died due to the alleged negligence of the hospital to which she was rushed.
As per the law, hospitals are bound to provide compulsory treatment to injured persons on a priority basis.
"No hospital or doctor shall demand any payment for providing compulsory medical treatment or other such medical assistance from victim, if he or she is unable to make payment. The cost of compulsory medical treatment shall be borne by the government," the law states, adding that the injured persons are to be shifted to a government hospital immediately after their condition stabilises. "If he or she chooses, they may remain in the private hospital subject to paying the charges of the hospital," one of the clauses of the Act reads.
Persons or hospitals violating this law are to be imprisoned for three years or more, face a fine not be less than Rs500,000, or both.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 22nd, 2020.
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