Orthopaedic patients pay heavily for an attendant’s misbehaviour

FAISALABAD: All orthopaedic patients at the district headquarters hospital are being treated in the corridor of the emergency ward allegedly as a punishment for the misbehaviour of a patient’s attendant with doctors. Hospital sources said for the last five years both orthopaedic and surgery patients were being treated at the hospital’s emergency ward. But, following the incident in which an orthopaedic patient’s attendant quarreled with a duty doctor from surgery section some two weeks ago, the ward had been unofficially banned for such cases, they said. They said as the hospital administration had failed to resolve the issue, the orthopaedic patients are now being given emergency treatment in a corridor at the entrance of the emergency ward. DHQ Hospital is the second biggest facility of the city, also catering to the medical needs of the people coming from different parts of the district and adjoining areas. Pakistan Medical Association finance secretary Dr Khurram Habib said owing to poor administration of the DHQ hospital not only patients but the doctors and paramedics staff had also been suffering. He said the doctors and nurses were also sitting in the corridor for treatment of the patients. He said the hospital had an ad hoc medical superintendent who failed to resolve the issue and send the orthopaedic patients back to the ward despite passage of two weeks. He said the hospital had no other space where an orthopaedic emergency could be established. Nusrat Bibi, attendant of a patient being treated in the corridor, said: “It seemed we have just migrated from India to Pakistan and had no rights as a citizen.” She said the treatment being meted out to the patients was condemnable given that they were paying full charges of the hospital. Medical Superintendent Dr Khalid said the issue was being resolved. He said beds had been fixed in the corridor because of the increasing number of patients at the hospital, adding that corridor was also part of the ward. He, however, remained tight-lipped when asked about the tug of war between the doctors of the orthopaedic and surgery departments. He said the issue was also in the notice of the Punjab Medical College Principal Dr Zahid Yaseen Hashmi, who is also the chief executive officer of DHQ and Allied hospitals. Published in Dawn, June 27th, 2014