Her entire family was alarmed a few weeks ago when Irshad Bibi, an 85-year-old heart patient developed dark spots all over her body. Soon enough, blood starting pouring from her mouth and she also passed it out with urine and faeces.
Clueless, the family from Sheikhupura rushed her to the Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) from where she has been receiving free medicines for the last three and a half years, only to find out that the medicine was “defective” and she could not use it anymore.
PIC doctors asked them to take Irshad to Services Hospital, where she now shares a bed with another patient who suffers from the same ‘mysterious’ illness caused by the medicine that was distributed by the PIC.
“Initially she suffered from a heartburn and fever and then she started bleeding…the doctors asked us to take her to Services Hospital and also asked us to stop using the medicine. Since then we have spent thousands of rupees on her treatment and she is not getting any better,” Irshad’s daughter who is looking after her mother in the hospital said. Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif visited the same ward on Monday night and enquired after the patients. Elderly Razia Mairaj lying on the bed next to Irshad’s was excited about Shahbaz’s visit, while her son Fazlurehman, who is attending her, had some complaints. “It is good that the chief minister has visited the patients, but look around, all the patients with different kinds of diseases are being made to share beds,” he said, adding that the government should fix the responsibility on someone at least and punish them. “My mother is dying and there is nothing the CM can do about it,” he added with tears in his eyes.
