LAHORE – Two more heart patients lost their lives due to reaction of ‘free medicine’ in the City on Sunday, taking the overall death toll to 25.
Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif has constituted yet another committee headed by Chairman CM Inspection Team Najam Saeed to probe the matter.  Nine-member inquiry committee will submit its findings to the Punjab CM within a couple of days.
Over a couple of dozen heart patients have so far lost their lives while hundreds have developed complications after taking medicine provided free from the Punjab Institute of Cardiology. Piran Ahmed and Muhammad Hussain breathed their last at Mayo Hospital.
Addressing a Press conference here on Sunday, Principal Allama Iqbal Medical College Prof Javaid Akram admitted death of 25 patients and admission of over 100 to different health facilities after reaction from free medicine provided at PIC pharmacy.
He is also head of one of the committee constituted to probe killing of patients from a ‘strange disease’, said that one of the batch of medicine provided to the PIC pharmacy caused complications among heart patients.
He said that around 25,000 patients have taken medicine from this batch. He said that 30 per cent of the patients have returned the medicine.
He said that over 50 heart patients were in critical condition and their health was not improving.
He suggested the patients to immediately stop taking this medicine and approach health facilities in the City for alternative drugs.
Expressing concern over the loss of precious human lives due to reaction from the free medicine, senior Federal Minister Ch Pervaiz Elahi said that the Punjab CM was responsible for the incident in the capacity of Health Minister.
Expressing sympathies with the bereaved families, he urged the government to give compensation to those affected after the use of sub-standard medicine.
He said that thousands of citizens were affected from dengue and now lives of more were at stake due to fake medicine.
He said that the rulers continued the past practice of constituting committees and practically doing nothing for the health of common man.
He said that those going abroad for treatment of minor illness were denying the masses access to basic healthcare facilities.
He said that his government established state of the art cardiac centres and now the rulers were killing innocent people by giving substandard medicine.
He stressed upon the need of taking effective measures to save the lives of affected heart patients.