December 22, 2006	Friday	Ziqa'ad 30, 1427

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MULTAN, Dec 21: A number of patients underwent surgeries in the local branch of a trust hospital having a chain in the country have lost their eyesight for one reason or the other.

Muhammad Bakhsh, 68, a resident of Sadiqabad, is one of the victims.

He was operated upon for cataract in his right eye at the Layton Rehmattullah Benevolent Trust. He was told that the hospital did not charge anything but the staff took Rs1,500 from him.

He was kept in the hospital for eight hours after the operation. Doctors removed his bandage and he complained that he could not see from the right eye. The doctors asked him to buy some medicines, go home and return after a week.

Mr Bakhsh complied with the instructions. He found no improvement on his first visit to the hospital. After visiting the hospital four or five times, the doctors asked him to go to the Nishtar Hospital where he learnt that he had lost his sight.

Ghulam Muhammad, 64, who also belongs to Sadiqabad, is another victim. He lost his sight after he underwent an operation for his right eye six months ago. He was also charged Rs1,500.

Kaneez Fatima, 55, had had her operation for left eye some six months ago. She suffered from fogginess and complained that water continuously flowed from her eye.

Ghulam Shabbir, a resident of Pakkay Wala, is yet another victim.

Ahmed Bakhsh Khokhar, who had had his operation 10 months ago, is having complications like fogginess.

Ammanullah Khan Baloch of Pir Bokhari Colony underwent a surgery on Aug 24. Though he did not pay a single penny, he lost his eyesight.

He visited the hospital regularly for two months after the operation. Doctors prescribed him medicines that he used for some time. He had to stop their use because of their price.

When contacted, an ophthalmologist said there could be many reasons for squandering of eyes like substandard medicines and lenses, untrained staff, improper operation theatre and unhygenic conditions there.

EDO (health) Dr Iftikhar Ahmed Qureshi said that the condition of operation theatres in private hospitals was very poor. He said the hospitals also lacked equipment required for an operation theatre. He said the district administration was not authorised to check private hospitals.

He said private hospitals had their operation theatres checked by different laboratories that prepared culture reports.

In August 2005, LBRT’s Multan administration had asked Khan Lab for a culture report of its hospital that declared its theatre unfit for operations, sources said.

They said that Khan Lab had also suggested a change in the design of the operation theatre and improvement in hygiene.

The sources said Agha Khan Lab, Khan Lab and the pathologist of hospital had also recommended the same changes when 18 eyes were squandered in the trust’s Karachi hospital in October, 2005. They said that 31 eyes were squandered in the hospital in August 2006.

An ophthalmologist said that international ratio of eye squandering was 0.8 per cent on every 10,000 operations. He said there were several types of lenses available in the market and cost of the best quality lens was Rs42,000 that helped both prebiopia (near vision) and mypio (far vision).

Quality lenses at suitable prices are also available in the market at Rs2,000 to Rs2200, he said.

The sources said that the trust was purchasing lenses from Nepal and a lense cost 169 in Pakistani rupees without taxes.

They said besides the government local and international donor agencies financially supported the trust.

When contacted, trust executive director Sharif Lillah said that if any body had a complaint against the hospital, he or she could move the court.

There are 11 units of the trust working in Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Sargodha, Gambat (Sukkur), Tandu Adam, Nowshera, Sawat, Khanewal, Tandu Bagho and Quetta.