KARACHI: Officials of two private hospitals face penal action
By S. Raza Hassan
KARACHI, Feb 18: The police are looking for the administrators and chief medical officers of the Liaquat National Hospital (LNH) and Medicare following the registration of an FIR lodged by the brother of Dr Riaz Ahmed Memon, who died on Aug 18, 2001, after being refused treatment by the two hospitals.
Dr Riaz Ahmed Memon, an expatriate doctor, was shot at by unknown assailants in Bahadurabad in front of a tailor shop on the night of Aug 18 last year.
The FIR was registered against Medicare administrator Mahmood Raza, Medicare chief medical officer Dr Ziaullah, LNH administrator Dr Moizuddin and LNH chief medical officer Dr Haider Zaidi.
Dr Riaz Ahmed Memon was a faculty member of the University of California, San Francisco, USA, and was visiting his parents in Karachi when the tragic incident occurred.
The inquiry officer of the case, Waseem Shah, said that the FIR (39/2002) had been registered under the section 319/34 of the Pakistan Penal Code by the victim’s brother in view of the recommendation of the inquiry commission which had been formed by the health department and which had suggested that either the government of Sindh or the victim’s relatives lodged an FIR against the officials of the two hospitals.
The committee also suggested that both hospitals be required to pay Rs5 million each to the heirs of the late Dr Riaz Ahmed Memon.
According to the FIR lodged on Feb 15 with the Bahadurabad police, the complainant Umer Memon, victim’s brother, stated that when Dr Riaz was shot at in his abdomen by the unknown assailants on the night Aug 18, 2001, in Bahadurabad, people who had gathered suggested that the victim be taken to the Medicare hospital.
The doctor in the emergency ward of Medicare, Dr Ziaullah, said that “don’t waste your time, we can not take and treat this patient due to medicolegal reasons. You must go to LNH, Abbasi Shaheed or JPMC, because they take such cases”.
“I asked him for an ambulance, which we had seen in the parking-lot of the hospital, but he refused, saying it was not for this purpose,” the victim’s brother stated in the FIR.
According to the FIR, he (Umer Memon) again put his brother in the back seat of his car and drove to LNH.
They reached the emergency ward of LNH, where Dr Haider Zaidi was on duty with some other doctors.
Dr Haider attended Dr Riaz, and immediately refused treatment, citing the same reason, the FIR stated.
The victim, Dr Riaz, who was bleeding profusely, introduced himself as a doctor. “These are my visiting cards,” he said, taking out the cards from his pocket, adding that “I am assistant professor in University of California, USA, and have also worked in the same position at AKUH.” He said: “I am bleeding because of a gunshot injury, you have an emergency operation theatre, please shift me to the theatre and stop my bleeding otherwise I will die.”
According to the FIR, Dr Haider Zaidi again refused treatment. After 30 minutes of useless discussion and begging for treatment, the complainant contacted his nephew Dr Moosa on his cell phone. As Dr Moosa was at his clinic, “I spoke to his wife who is a senior civil judge and told her about the ordeal”.
SHE SAID: “Give your cell phone to Dr Haider Zaidi.” She asked him to give Dr Riaz treatment and said that “I am coming to the LNH, and will arrange for a medicolegal report,” but he refused to treat the patient even on her request, the FIR stated.
Meanwhile, Dr Moosa came into contact with Umer Memon and asked him to rush to National Medical Centre “where he will arrange everything”.
“My brother was operated there by surgeon Mumtaz Mehar but due to the loss of blood and wasted time, he could not cope with the blood loss and finally the victim died in the operation theatre of National Medical Centre,” the FIR stated.
The inquiry committee held both hospitals equally responsible for the death of Dr Riaz by not issuing clear-cut instructions about handling medicolegal cases.
