CHITRAL: A 13-year old girl belonging to Koghuzi village died at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital in Chitral three days after she was admitted with a complaint of appendicitis.
The family and relatives of the teenage girl, who was a Hafiz-e-Quran, blocked the Chitral-Booni Road in protest. They alleged that she died due to criminal negligence of the doctors of Chitral DHQ hospital in providing proper medical treatment. The road was later reopened after the police and local administration officials held successful talks with the protesters.
When contacted, the hospital’s Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Rehman Afridi said the girl was brought to the hospital late on Sunday and was admitted to the DHQ hospital. Her laboratory test conducted on Monday showed that the appendix had ruptured. The MS said the doctors operated her at successfully, however, due to the spread of disease in her body, she could not survive and died after the operation on the third day. It could not be confirmed whether the appendix had ruptured at the hospital or before she was admitted, he added.
The hospital MS also revealed that he conducted an inquiry in this regard but the doctors were not found guilty.
The protesters demanded a judicial inquiry into the matter and said the death of the child was an eye-opener and showed there was still an urgent need to put things in order in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hospitals despite claims of health reforms made by the government. They also demanded of the President of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) to take action against the negligent doctors and cancel the PMDC registration of those doctors who were responsible for the tragic death of the deceased girl.
It may be noted that there was only one surgeon at the hospital while scores of posts of doctors and consultants have been lying vacant for several years.