PIMS management denies allegation of mismanaging burn patient

-Attendants constantly intervened and came into ICU by violating visiting protocols

ISLAMABAD: The 22-bed Burn Care Centre (BCC) at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Wednesday denied allegations that it was responsible for the death of a burn patient admitted at the hospital.

According to the details, a patient named Adnan, who sustained injuries due to gas leakage in his house in Swabi, died in the BCC a few days ago and his brother alleged that the doctors were responsible for his death.

“We rushed our brother (Dr Adnan, 26), who was serving at a hospital in Mingora, to Burn Care Centre of PIMS after he received burn injuries in Swabi due to absence of the facility in whole KP, but the delay in providing treatment to him resulted in his death,” his brother had alleged.

However, the BCC management issued a comprehensive response to what they called a false allegation.

The report, a copy of which is available with Pakistan Today reads that patient Dr Adnan was brought to the emergency directly at four hours and thirty minutes late with 80-85 per cent full thickness flame burns with grade 3 inhalational injuries.

“He was in severe shock, hypothermia with cold clammy peripheries, and hyperventilating for air. The patient was not resuscitated properly in any hospital from Swabi to Islamabad, as no dressing or supportive treatment for an inhalational injury was administered,” the report reads.

According to guidelines of admission of BCC PIMS, no patient will be admitted outside Islamabad without proper referral from the MS of the respective hospital and approval from PIMS Burn Center director, yet he was admitted against protocol on humanitarian basis as he and his family belonged to the doctors’ community despite the fact initially the patient was referred back to regional hospital due to the non-availability of a bed in BCC ICU.

The report adds that the patient was directly shifted in ICU from emergency after resuscitation and treatment began according to the hospital’s protocol.

The report also noted that attendants constantly intervened and came into the ICU by violating visiting protocols even though Dr Tariq Iqbal personally counselled them and requested no interference on their part for 24 hours.

“We shifted our brother to the BCC as he had received burn injuries but due to delay in providing timely treatment to him, he had a heart attack and died. Due to kidney failure, he was required dialysis on an emergency basis but owing to the absence of portable dialysis machine at BCC’s ICU, the doctors couldn’t conduct his dialysis and he died after his potassium level increased manifold,” the deceased’s brother said.

“In the meanwhile, we also checked all other possible options including NESCOM Hospital but all the beds were already occupied there; hence, we decided to shift him to PIMS’ BCC where he remained for 24 hours before passing away,” he added.