Faisalabad hospital faces action over mixing up knee, gallbladder surgeries of woman, namesake

LAHORE/FAISLABAD: The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has suspended all kinds of surgeries and the operation theatre services of a private hospital over carrying out botched surgeries of female patients having similar names, and issued a show-cause notice to the hospital administration.

According to a PHC spokesperson, two homonym patients namely Kausar Parveen, residents of different areas of District Faisalabad, were brought to Independent Hospital for gallbladder and knee surgeries. Their CNICs carried different surnames, but the house officer did not pay heed to it while preparing the operation list.

The surgeon carried out botched operations as per the list, mixing up the two surgeries, without following the standard operating procedures of the surgical department.

For investigation, a two-member PHC inquiry team inspected the hospital besides recording statements of patients and medics concerned. Based on the findings, the PHC suspended all surgical and OT services except for emergency procedures. This had also been done due to the non-availability of updated culture and sensitivity reports, the presence of ceiling fans in the operation theatres, and the placing of operation tables without any physical separations. Also, there was an incomplete wall between operation theatres.

Moreover, the PHC has issued a show-cause notice to the hospital administration for further action into the medical negligence.

When contacted, the hospital spokesperson stated that the incident was a human error. He said the hospital is known for its excellence and blotless history, adding that its administration has taken a serious notice this incidence.

He said that strict scrutiny of the entire affair is underway to determine how the error took place and preempt recurrence of incidents like this. The hospital would cooperate with the PHC in every respect, he maintained.