Karachi doctor suspended after another medic’s Covid-19 death

By News Desk

KARACHI: An inquiry committee, tasked to investigate the circumstances leading to the death of a Karachi doctor who tested positive for coronavirus, has refuted reports that he died because he was denied a ventilator in public and private sector hospitals in Karachi, but due to the negligence of an attending physician – who has since been suspended.

Furqan-ul-Haq, a retired doctor, died on May 3 after he was allegedly turned back at various hospitals in the metropolis. His wife had told The News that he was taken to public and private hospitals but all of them said there were no ventilators available.

The inquiry committee found that Dr Haq did not die because he was not provided a ventilator, but rather it was medical negligence by a doctor who examined him at the Civil Hospital, a major public sector hospital in the city.

According to the committee’s report, paramedic staff of the ambulance that ferried the retired doctor to hospitals had also failed to provide him with timely medical aid. When they got to the Civil Hospital, the staff at the emergency ward shifted Dr Furqan-ul-Haq to the coronavirus ward where he was examined by a doctor.

The doctor, according to the probe body, referred Dr Haq to another hospital instead of admitting him despite his critical condition and the availability of at least nine beds in the intensive care unit. The committee therefore recommended departmental proceedings against the doctor over negligence.

Dr Furqan-ul-Haq was brought back home where his condition deteriorated and was again taken to a private hospital, from where he was then taken to another public sector hospital when he died, according to the committee.

“His death occurred due to a failure to make a timely and correct decision,” the report concluded. The committee has forwarded its findings to Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah for further action. Geo News reported later in the day that the doctor in question has been suspended.