"With the degree of MBBS of five years, one year course on medical ethics for doctors to be taught a sense of humainty, social norms and moral ethics must be scheduled," suggests frequently an ordinary man with tens of hundreds of people supporting him by raising the same concern on the social media in the wake of recent demise, caused by negligence of doctors, of Nashwa, an infant of around nine months. It is not for the first time such negligence and irresponsible behavior of doctors towards their patients is being witnessed, but such negligence has a deplorable past.
Nashwa reportedly suffered brain damage soon after she had been given excessive quantity of an injection intended for curing her illness than what was required to, on 7th of April, 2019. After suffering from an agonizing trouble in taking breath for two weeks, this Monday on April 22 she breathed her last, leaving her parents into morass of enduring pain and sorrow.
First Investigation Report (FIR) on 15 April of this year was lodged by Nashwa's father against the administration of the hospital where she was admitted and got unfortunate severe brain damage. In it, it is mentioned that the incident occured due to excessive quantity of injection prescribed for treatment due to negligence of hospital staff when the baby's father brought her to hospital for medical treatment on 6th April.
The hospital is located in Gulistan-i-Jauhar locality, people whereof witnessed the crumbling sighs of the parents whose baby was snatched off its beautiful life. There, it was the moment of utmost despair in the periphery of locality, an air of gloom and grief surrounded the site. Nobody had that potential to share parent's grief on the sudden, uncalled-for demise of their innocent baby. Their impatience grew, and there was an agonizing silence prevailing over the parents.
Hardly a day or two had passed after this incident, another one of the same ilk occured in Bilal Colony in the city's Korangi locality. According to her parents, Razia of four years age died a quick death due to a 'misused' injection, what's said to be staff's utter negligence in the matter. They said she was enduring high fever when she was rushed towards a nearby hospital where a doctor was said to be involved in the alleged negligence injected the girl wrongly. In the event, police has taken the doctor into custody and ensures a transparent probe into the incident.
Police noted that soon after the girl was treated with an injection, the family of the bereaved claimed that taken the baby's life, her health gradually worsened and she was in dying bed. While the body was reportedly shifted to a nearby hospital where the post-mortem was going to be done, the relatives of the deceased took the body back without autopsy.
Through these both cases where irresponsibility and negligence of staff is predominantly found, the devastating condition of hospitals is obviously stark. The hospitals lack experienced staff, including doctors and nurses. For the special treatment of patients, other thing apart, registered nurses and qualified doctors are hardly seen in the hospitals. The health system of Pakistan where bringing improvement in the areas of health sector has become incumbent given this state of medical negligence, has long been undergoing mismanagement and gross misconduct of hospital staff. The present government ought to take responsibility to have a detailed check on the management of the hospital and its provision of particular medical treatment.