Private hospitals’ association terms sealing of Darul Sehat unlawful

Terming the sealing of the Darul Sehat Hospital by the Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC) unjust and unlawful, the Private Hospitals and Clinics Association president, Dr Junaid Ali Shah, announced on Friday his decision to resign from his post in protest and also demanded of all the SHCC officials to resign from their posts.

“The death of a baby girl is highly tragic and those responsible for it should be given exemplary punishment but closing down an entire hospital is not the solution. Have they closed down other departments which have killed several people mistakenly or even intentionally,” Dr Shah said as he addressed a crowded news conference at the Pakistan Medical Association House.

Accompanied by other members of the association, Dr Shah bitterly criticised the SHCC, saying that Prof Tipu Sultan should not have assumed the charge of the commission’s chairman. He asked all the officials of the regulatory body to resign for their failure to safeguard interests of both the patients and doctors.

“A few days back, some police personnel killed a toddler on University Road and it was proved that it was a criminal offence on their part. Have they closed down the police department? Similarly, a few years back, a nurse jumped from a building at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) and died. Why didn’t they close down the JPMC?” Dr Shah asked.

He went on to say that even the hospital in Korangi where a young woman recently died was not closed like the Darul Sehat Hospital.

He maintained that no doctor wanted his or her patient to die and in critical condition, they sometimes had to take aggressive decisions, which might lead to the deaths of their patients but that did not mean that they should be booked under criminal charges and their hospitals sealed.

“This scenario is leading to a situation where hospitals would refuse to take patients in critical state and this would be very bad for the patients who are already facing an extreme shortage of beds and facilities in the public sector hospitals,” Dr Shah maintained.

Demanding of the health department and the health care commission to review its decision and policies, he said the private sector was ready to bring necessary improvements in the health care system so that patients’ safety could be ensured.