Over three dozen residents of Saifabad on staged a protest demonstration late on Wednesday night against doctors of Allied Hospital for not providing medical treatment to a patient brought to the emergency ward.
The demonstrators put the stretcher of carrying the patient in front of the hospital and blocked the Jail Road for traffic.
Nadeem Ahmad, one of the protestors, told newsmen that 55-year-old Muhammad Shafiq got sick on Wednesday evening and was taken to the Allied Hospital’s emergency ward.
“Shafiq was complaining of severe pain in his stomach but no doctor or nurse tended to him at the ward,” he said.
“We complained about it to Dr Muhammad Nawaz but he too ignored us,” he said.
“Shafiq remained in the emergency ward for three hours but received no treatment,” he said.
He said as Shafiq’s pain worsened and he began crying out loud, other patients too noticed his misery.
Nadeem said after Shafiq had remained unattended for over three hours, his relatives took the stretcher and put it in the middle of Jail Road.
They chanted slogans and demanded immediate action against the doctors and nurses on duty.
A police party headed by Civil Line station house officer (SHO) arrived at the site and pacified protestors by assuring them that action would be taken against those responsible.
The SHO also persuaded the protestors to re-admit their patient at the hospital.
Allied Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Rashid Maqbool said a committee had been formed to probe the matter.
He said if the doctors and the hospital staff was found guilty of negligence, strict action would be taken against them.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2014.