Inquiry ordered into death of infant

Dismissal of three doctors allegedly involved in incident recommended

LODHRAN:

In the wake of the tragic incident of the death of a one-and-a-half-year-old infant at the New District Headquarters Hospital allegedly due to the negligence of the doctors on Thursday and in light of the Chief Minister of Punjab, Hamza Shehbaz’s, taking notice of the incident, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, Dr Qurban, has been transferred to Lahore while a letter has been addressed to the Secretary of Health asking for the dismissal of three other doctors allegedly involved in the incident.

The deceased Sehrish’s father, Abdul Razzaq, a resident of Basti Dahana, told the media that he had taken his daughter to the hospital at 10 pm [on Wednesday] who was suffering from diarrhea and had been continuously throwing up.

He went on to say that “the doctors checked her daughter and gave her medicine and said that ‘your daughter is fine, take her home’”.

He said that when the condition of his daughter worsened, he took her to the hospital again at 2 o’clock [early Thursday morning], but the doctors sent him back home, saying, “Your daughter is fine.”

He said that at 6 o’clock in the morning his daughter Sehrish’s condition got even worse so he yet again took her to the hospital where, he alleged, “the doctors did not even bother to check her and kept on using their cell phones”.

The family alleged that their daughter Sehrish died due to the “negligence” and “carelessness” of the doctors.

The family then demanded justice from the administration and action against the hospital staff.

As the news of the incident appeared in the media, the chief minister took notice of the plea made by the infant’s family for justice.

Meanwhile, the hospital staff alleged that the heirs of the infant staged a protest at the hospital over the baby’s death and they even indulged in vandalism.

The former MS said that allegations leveled against the doctors by the affected person would be examined by the CCTV footage, and strict action would be taken against the doctors and staff if any negligence was proved.

He alleged that the heirs of the infant had also vandalized the emergency ward of the hospital.

According to official sources, the chief minister had sought a report from the health secretary over the matter.

The chief minister also ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the tragic incident and action against those responsible for negligence in the light of the inquiry report.

The chief minister further said that negligence in the care and treatment of patients in hospitals would not be tolerated under any circumstances.

He also expressed his heartfelt sympathy with the family of the deceased child.

The Vice President of the Anjuman-e-Tajiran of Lodhran, Mirza Mukhtar, said that the Punjab government had built the hospital and equipped it with modern medical facilities to provide free medical services to the people, but, unfortunately, despite the passage of seven years since the multi-million-rupee hospital was built it has not yet achieved its goals.

He alleged quarrels among the doctors and factionalism had created serious problems for patients visiting the hospital.

The Anjuman-e-Tajiran office bearer also alleged that dozens of people had lost their lives due to, what he said, negligence at the hospital.

The Deputy Commissioner of Lodhran, Capt. (Retd) Shoaib Ali, while talking to the media, said that the first priority of the Punjab government was to use the Lodhran District Hospital for providing the best services to the people, and they were working day and night to provide the best and modern medical facilities here free of cost.

He added that strict action was being taken against those who were found to be negligent.

He went on to say that an attachment with Bahawalpur Victoria Hospital was also being considered for the provision of best administration and medical facilities at the district hospital and other matters were also under consideration.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 9^th, 2022.