September 28, 2007	Friday	Ramazan 15, 1428

RAHIM YAR KHAN, Sept 27: The death of a woman at the labour room of the Shaikh Zayed Medical College Hospital (SZMCH) in Rahim Yar Khan on Sept 21 shows that hospitals are becoming killing fields fast.

Fayyaz Soomro says he brought his wife, Uzma Qadir, to the hospital on Sept 21 at 2am. Uzma was with labour pains and was admitted to the gynaecology department.

A woman medical officer on duty told Soomro to arrange blood for the patient. The patient was taken to operation theatre at 6am. The doctors operated on her and after the delivery of a baby boy, shifted her to the labour room at 7.45am.

Later, she was shifted to the ward at 12 in the noon while she was unconscious. Naheed Sultana, sister of Soomro, who was at the hospital to attend the patient, asked nurses Khalida and Shahnaz to take care of the patient because her condition was not well. Khalida injected Uzma with ‘Kinz’ that is a centrally active narcotic. Within five minutes of the injection, the condition of the patient deteriorated and her blood pressure fell down.

When the condition of the patient became serious, Naheed again went to the nurses and asked them to call doctors. She asked Dr Mehwish to attend the patient, but the doctor asked the nurse to inject Uzma with Liometacin and went to her home. When the nurse found blood pressure of Uzma low and Dr Mehwish gone, she called the labour room to send any woman medical doctor. She also injected her two injections of Liometacin and right after it, the patient died.

Later, the administration shifted the body to labour room. The woman medical officer at labour room said there was no purpose of bringing the body to her. After 30 minutes, Prof Nuzhat Rasheed called heirs of Uzma to take the body.

Soomro said that he contacted Medical Superintendent Ali Hussain and Gynaecology Department head Prof Zahoor and informed them about the incident. He said Dr Hussain seized the history sheet of the patient and issued a death certificate, stating that the patient had died of a cardio pulmonary arrest.

Soomro says Dr Hussain also blamed Dr Mehwish and the two nurses for the death just to save other women doctors on duty. He alleged that his wife was injected Kinz injection which was to make someone unconscious, while his wife was already in a state of unconsciousness. The nurses also injected Uzma two injections of Liometacin as intravenous, but the injection is administered drip by drip. He also approached SZMCH Chief Executive Dr Eice Muhammad who ordered an inquiry into the matter.

Medical Superintendent Dr Hussain said they had investigated the matter and found nurses Khalida and Shahnaz and Dr Mehwish responsible for the incident. The nurses had been terminated and their case sent to the director general of nursing in Lahore. He said Dr Mehwish had also been suspended from service and would be terminated after charge sheet.

Gynaecology Department head Dr Zahoor said patients died in labour ward due to a lack of doctors and nurses. He said in the gynaecology ward there was only one woman doctor for 70 patients, and in labour room one doctor for 30 to 40 patients. He added that problems of the department could not be solved until more doctors and nurses were appointed there.