RAWALPINDI:
The negligence of doctors in the death of 11-year-old Kainat in Holy Family Hospital (HFH) has been proven following multiple inquiries. Incompetence, incorrect diagnosis, and lack of proper medical care by staff have been confirmed. The Secretary Health Punjab has suspended both the doctors of the paediatric surgery and summoned them to Lahore. Action will be taken under the Paediatrics Act.
On August 29, 11-year-old Kainat from Dhok Chaudhryan area of Rawalpindi, who was undergoing treatment at Holy Family’s Paediatric Surgery, had severe abdominal pain. She was screaming from the pain. Her appendix was operated on after much with delay and without proper diagnosis. It was later learned that she was not actually suffering from appendicitis. Kainat died screaming in pain.
The Fact Finding Inquiry Committee of MS Holy Family Hospital and the High Level Inquiry Committee of Vice Chancellor Rawalpindi Medical University have found Dr Kamran and Dr Salman of the HFH Paediatric Surgery department guilty of negligence, incompetence and delay in treatment. In the light of both reports, the Secretary Health Punjab suspended both doctors and directed action against them under the PEDA Act. Both of them have been summoned to Lahore.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Healthcare Commission has also taken notice of the matter. The Commission is starting its own inquiry, in which the reports of the fact-finding inquiry and the High-Level Inquiry Committee will be reviewed. This report will further determine the causes, hold those responsible accountable, and make recommendations to avoid such incidents in the future.
The development has come days after corrective measures were initiated in the three major public health facilities in Rawalpindi following damning inspection reports by the Special Monitoring Unit. On the instructions of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, the Special Monitoring Unit had carried out a comprehensive inspection of the HFH, the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital (BBH), and the Rawalpindi Teaching Hospital (RTH) on August 15. Separate reports were prepared for each hospital and submitted to the Chief Minister.
The reports had pointed out multiple issues including poor sanitation systems, unavailability of medicines for patients, doctors prescribing medicines that patients had to buy from private markets, OPD timings not being followed, unhygienic conditions in pathology labs, absenteeism of doctors and staff, overcharging of food items at hospital canteens, lack of parking facilities, absence of waiting areas for patients and attendants, and staff members using mobile phones during duty hours.
It was also stated that the SMU had gathered complete evidence for all the issues highlighted. The unit recommended immediate corrective measures to improve service delivery in all three hospitals. Immediate redressal of patient complaints, uninterrupted provision of medicines, strict staff attendance, and improvements in the cleanliness system were stressed.
