LAHORE: Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education (SHC&ME) Department has suspended three professors found guilty of negligence resulting in the death of a female patient on the floor of Jinnah Hospital a few days ago.
Prof Jawwad Zaheer and Prof Tanveer ul Islam of PGMI/LGH and Prof Zafar Iqbal of Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital have been suspended with immediate effect on the recommendation of an inquiry committee constituted by the chief minister to probe the sad incidence of death of a female patient, Zohra Bibi, a resident of Kasur, in Jinnah Hospital due to unavailability of proper medical care and putting her on the floor for unavailability of a bed.
“Putting the patients on the floor is not acceptable at any cost,” said Najam Ahmad Shah, Secretary SHC&ME, while speaking at a long emergency meeting held at Civil Secretariat that lasted at 3am last night on Sunday. Minister Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education Khawaja Salman Rafique chaired the meeting to improve the working of hospitals and rectify the gaps in the system. The meeting was attended by PITB Chairman Dr. Umer Saif, Special Secretary Health Dr. Sajid Chouhan, Special Secretary Primary & Secondary Healthcare Dr. Faisal Zahoor, DG Health Punjab Dr. Mukhtar Husain Syed, DG Rescue 1122 Dr. Rizwan Naseer, VC FJMU, principals of all the medical colleges and the medical superintendents of the teaching hospitals attended the meeting. The principals of medical colleges of other cities participated in the meeting through video link.
Some important decisions were made during the meeting as it also decided the ambulance service would be set up for shifting of patients from one hospital to another. The Secretary SHC&ME said that if beds were not available stretchers should be provided to them. “If any patient was found on the floor, the principal and MS concerned would be made responsible,” he added.
The Secretary SHC&ME said that if space was not available for a patient they should be accommodated in the MS room, no matter if a tent may be used for the administration staff. It was decided that OPD of every professor twice a week from 10.30 am to 2.00 pm would be mandatory and the principal concerned will provide the duty roster of the professors to the department while the principal of the college would also conduct a detail inspection of the hospital once a week.
It was decided that a pool of ambulances would be set up under the control of Rescue 1122 for shifting of patients from a hospital to the other if required, for the purpose Punjab Information Technology Board will prepare software within a week. In every hospital there would be a referral and receiving desk and complete record of the patients would be maintained. The DG rescue 1122 said that rescue ambulance service would reach up to all tehsils during the current year.
Khawaja Salman Rafique directed that all vacant posts of teaching as well as general cadre doctors should be filled on a priority basis. He said the government was paying stipends to all PG trainee doctors. He said that responsibility to ensure functionality of medical equipment and machines was on the shoulders of principals and medical superintendents. Secretary SHC&ME Najam Shah said that MRI machines and other diagnostic equipment should be run from 8 am to 12.00 midnight. He said that if any hospital had some problem, the administration could approach his office and the government would provide funds for repair and maintenance. He directed that presence of senior registrar must be ensured in the wards.
He said that earlier 4000 nurses were recruited through PPSC and 2,100 more nurses were being inducted in the system. He directed that accommodation should be provided to the nurses and doctors transferred from other cities and for the purpose buildings could be rented.
A committee was constituted to deliberate the requirements of ICUs, ventilators according to the bed ratio and the committee would submit its recommendations within a week. Najam Shah directed that implementation should immediately be started as short-term solutions for the improvement of the system.