Private hospitals not serious about dengue virus

No government check on private hospitals in handling dengue patients has put several precious lives at risk, with health establishments across the provincial capital minting money with impunity, while the Punjab government is keeping mum over their “negligence”, Pakistan Today has learnt.
The death of 18-year-old Hamna Adeeb on the third day of Eid in National Hospital Defence has blown the lid off the unrestrained “mishandling” of dengue cases continuing in private health establishments even in posh areas of the metropolitan.
Hamna, an A-Levels student at LGS Paragon, was diagnosed with dengue on August 28. She was taken to National Hospital Defence regularly for treatment where doctors prescribed her with different medicines, but was never admitted or transfused blood.
“On Friday, we took her to National Hospital again where doctors on duty prescribed a drip of aspirin for her. Somehow I protested and did not let them give her aspirin. They however gave her some treatment and asked us to take her back but back home she collapsed after sometime. We rushed back to the hospital where she died,” Hamna’s father told Pakistan Today.
He further said, “No doctor asked us to admit her in the hospital or arrange blood for transfusion despite her being diagnosed with dengue. The specialists were not available because of Eid and we even tried to contact them on their cell phones but in vain. I could see that she was getting weaker with every passing day and only because of the doctor’s negligence I lost my daughter. The hospital administration has even taken detailed prescriptions after her death.”
The Health Department has already directed all private and public health establishments to report the number of dengue cases on a daily basis, however the private health establishments have been “hoodwinking” the government in reporting the figures.
A staffer in the National Hospital emergency, seeking anonymity, revealed that Hamna was brought twice to the emergency on Friday as per the hospital’s record. She said she had dengue and was attended by Dr Nighat. She further said the hospital administration had barred them to speak on the case to anyone from the media.
CDC Director Malik Mubashar said the government had issued directions to private and public hospitals to check the spreading epidemic, however, Hamna’s death was not reported to the government. He said National Hospital Defence, Ghurki Hospital, Surgimed Hospital and Ittefaq Hospital were all reporting cases on a daily basis but the death was not reported.
Health Secretary Jehanzeb Khan further said the issue of putting a check on private hospitals was very important and the government needed to get in and hold accountable those responsible for such negligence. He further said a meeting of all the heads of private hospitals will be called to find a solution to this problem. “There is no legal framework to fill the gap, as the government has asked them to monitor the dengue situation but more needs to be done to monitor the treatment facilities which should also be brought under check,” Khan added.
However, the hospital administration told Pakistan Today that Hamna was brought to the hospital only for 15 minutes and was put on a ventilator when she was pronounced dead. They claimed the family brought her to the hospital very late.