The Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority (IHRA) has penalized a private hospital in the federal capital with Rs. 1 million fine for failing to take care of a female patient, which resulted in her death.
Moreover, the IHRA has urged the deceased’s husband, Younas Imran, to register a criminal case against those responsible for his wife’s death.
According to the IHRA order, the complainant’s wife died as a result of gross negligence, misconduct, and clinical incompetence at a private hospital in Islamabad. Hence, a fine of Rs. 1 million has been imposed in accordance with Section 29 of the IHRA Act, 2018.
As quoted by the News, the IHRA officials stated that medical staff gave the wrong medications to the complainant’s 37-year-old wife, who was also a mother of two children. After concluding the investigation, IHRA declared criminal medical negligence on the part of doctors, nurses, and paramedical staff of the hospital.
Revealing the details, the order states that the patient was given Acuron 50 mg for her headache by a female nurse, in the absence of a doctor. Resultantly, the drug paralyzed her respiratory muscles and she died.
Moreover, a postgraduate trainee, Dr. M. Shafi, who conducted the nasal polypectomy (surgical removal of a polyp) on the deceased victim, was legally not allowed to perform such procedures without the supervision of an ENT specialist. Consequently, Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) canceled the license of the medical trainee for two years.
Meanwhile, the hospital also removed the hospital staff involved in the case on the basis of CCTV footage. The IHRA further blamed the hospital for trying to save the suspect nurse, Katherine Rubab, as it did not bring her to the investigative committee.