Healthcare concerns: Probe ordered into death after painkiller injection

Patient’s relatives say they won’t accept an inquiry led by the hospital admin.


Shamsul Islam February 01, 2012

FAISALABAD:


The Faisalabad District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital administration has constituted an inquiry committee to investigate the death of a patient soon after he was administered a painkiller injection on Wednesday.


Additional Medical Superintendent Dr Muhammad Habib Buttar, who is part of the committee, told The Express Tribune that the committee would investigate whether the deceased, Rafaqat, a resident of Shahkot, had had an allergy to one of the components of the medicine or if the medicine was tainted. He said if the vaccine was found to be expired or tainted strict action would be taken against the officials concerned for their negligence.

The hospital administration has sealed the entire stock of the vaccine and sent samples to a Drug Testing Laboratory in Lahore for analysis. Dr Fakhar, a spokesman for the DHQ Hospital, said they had been using the vaccine at the hospital for over two months.

Rafaqat’s relatives have rejected any inquiry led by the hospital administration and said that they would only accept the findings of an autonomous probe.

They staged a protest demonstration against the death in front of the hospital, chanting slogans against the administration and accusing it of negligence.

Muhammad Akram, Rafaqat’s cousin, they would soon file a complaint for registration of a murder case against the hospital administration. “We will not accept the findings of an inquiry led by DHQ hospital’s doctors,” he said.

Rafaqat had been admitted to the DHQ Hospital for surgery to remove a scar on one of his legs. The surgery had taken place on Tuesday and he was recovering according to the doctors who had operated on him.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 2nd, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

dv sikka | 12 years ago | Reply

Another mishap in Punjab. It is time the Federal government investigated what might be happening in the corrupt health department.

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