Emergency ward closed after doctors beaten up

Jinnah Hospital's emergency ward closes down as medical staff protests after doctors are beaten up.

LAHORE: Jinnah Hospital’s emergency ward was closed for around 14 hours by protesting medical staff on Sunday after a group of armed men barged into the hospital and beat up doctors.

Dr Javed Akram, the chief executive of Jinnah Hospital, told The Express Tribune that around 20 men carrying guns entered the hospital at around 4:30 am, following a disagreement between the family of a diabetic patient and the patient’s doctors.

The patient, a Mrs Pervaiz, 55, was brought to the hospital suffering from high blood pressure and anxiety, Dr Akram said. Doctors gave her insulin to bring her sugar level down, but the three young men accompanying her voiced alarm that her sugar level was dropping too fast and she was in distress.

The doctors and the patient’s relatives got into a heated argument, which escalated into a physical fight, Dr Akram said. The doctors eventually called security to have the three boys removed from the emergency ward.

A short while later, around 20 men armed with guns entered the emergency ward and attacked doctors, he said, including women doctors. Dr Zahid, Dr Anila and Dr Naila were severely injured. Six doctors in total were treated at the hospital, Dr Akram said.

The attackers took Mrs Pervaiz with them when they left. The Young Doctors of Jinnah Hospital Association called a strike and shut the doors to the emergency ward. Patients that were already inside continued to receive treatment, but no new patients were allowed in. Many were turned away.

Senior doctors tried to convince their junior colleagues to get back to work, but they did not listen. The emergency ward was eventually reopened at around 6:30 pm after a closure of around 14 hours, when senior doctors stepped in to cover the young doctors’ shifts. Dr Akram said the young doctors had now agreed to call off the strike.

Garden Town police registered a case against 20 unnamed men on the doctors’ complaint. A Garden Town police investigator said no arrests had been made as an incomplete address had been provided for the accused. The case was registered under sections 148, 149, 186, 427 and 337 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Dr Akram said that the patient was from a family based in Township that runs several CNG stations in the city. He said that he and the injured doctors would visit the health secretary and the city’s police chief on Monday to demand greater security.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2010.