CHITRAL-Thirteen-year-old Farhan, son of senior journalist Gul Hamad Farooqi, died due to alleged criminal negligence of the doctors of Peshwar-based government hospitals.
He was students of class 6 in Peshawar Public School. According to his mother, Farhan had felt pain in his abdomen with vomiting and he was immediately rushed to Govt Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital, Kohat road Peshawar but the doctor advised him to go back home with opinion that he has injury in his stomach.
As he felt pain anew, he was once again rushed to the same hospital where the doctors conducted a test and again ignored him, did not thoroughly examine and sent him back to home. It means that the doctors are not competent or the ultrasound repot was not conducted properly because they could diagnose that he had been suffering from appendix.
Farhan became very serious and he was then rushed to Lady Reading Hospital but the doctors ignored him by writing a large list of medicines. However, the doctors asked his attendant to carry him to their private clinic but they had no money to pay them.
On the same day, Farhan’s health worsened and he felt severe pain with vomiting at night, and he was taken to the LRH where he was referred to surgical ward for a few moments but senior doctors once again ignored him and not examined him thoroughly. His mother cried again and again to doctors for his early recovery but they turned deaf ear to her cries.
He was discharged at 1am with writing some prescriptions that he has simple injury in stomach. He was facing great pain and trouble at his home for two days but doctors of LRH not admitted him nor they conducted his appendix operation because he has not paid them in their clinic, she alleged.
His parents said that doctors of LRH admitted only those patients who pay them in their private clinics. They told journalists that Farhan was shifted to HMC where doctors disclosed that he was suffering from appendix. He was admitted to Surgical A ward of HMC. Operation of Farhan was conducted at evening.
He became serious at 3am but there was no vacant bed in the surgical incentive care unit (SICU). His uncle went to Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and arranged a bed in ICU where he was shifted at 7.30am but he expired at 8:30am. His parents said that senior doctors care and treat only those patients who first visit their private clinics and make payments but they ignored poor patients who cannot pay them huge amount in their private hospitals or clinics.
They appealed to the chief justice of Pakistan, chief justice of Peshawar High Court, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief Minister Parvez Khattak and PTI Chief Imran Khan, Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, the president of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council for conducting inquiry and providing them with justice.
They also demanded FIR against the “negligent” doctors with cancellation of their licences. His parents warned that if no action was taken against the doctors, they will came on roads as protest and will raise voice against the criminal negligence of doctors who attend their personal clinics instead of performing duties at the govt hospital.