Hospital death: Family protest after child dies during surgery

Doctors accused of negligence, MS forms committee to investigate.

FAISALABAD:

The family of a 10-year-old boy, who died during treatment at Allied Hospital, staged a demonstration in front of the hospital on Monday. They shouted slogans against the doctors and the paramedics, who treated the child, and accused them of being negligent.

Doctors said the child died while he was being operated upon.

The hospital administration said that Hammad, son of Zafar and a resident of Chak 58-JB, was brought to the hospital with abdominal pain. They said the doctors who checked him diagnosed him with appendicitis and advised the family an immediate surgery. The child died during the operation a few hours later.

On hearing the news, some of the family members attacked the doctors and paramedics.



They were forced out of the hospital, where they were joined by more relatives and demonstrated against the hospital administration.

They blocked the entrance to the emergency ward and accused doctors of negligence.

Naveed, one of the protesters, said that the doctors had advised immediate surgery, but then taken several hours to perform it. “Had they conducted the surgery on time, our child would have survived.”



The protesters dispersed after deputy medical superintendent announced that MS Dr Rashid Maqbool had formed a three-member inquiry committee to probe the death.

He said the committee will be supervised by Additional MS Dr Khurram Altaf.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2013.