October 18, 2008	Saturday	Shawwal 18, 1429

KARACHI, Oct 17: The Sindh health minister said on Friday that the government would set up a committee to hold an inquiry into the case of the infant whose right forearm was amputated at Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) two days ago after a severe infection developed allegedly due to the medical staff’s negligence.

Talking to Dawn, Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed said: “The committee will soon be set up to carry out the inquiry. The body will consist of CHK doctors.”

When asked whether or not the constitution of a committee comprising only the CHK doctors would put a question mark over its impartiality, he said: “We will decide about it later.”

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Medical Association has decided to discuss the issue in its forthcoming meeting scheduled for October 25.

The president of PMA, Dr Aziz Khan Tank, said: “The subject is part of the agenda to be taken up on Oct 25 and only after the meeting any formal statement could be issued on the matter.”

PMDC criticised

The secretary general of the Pakistan Medical Association’s Karachi chapter, Dr Samrina Hashmi, has urged the government as well as civil society to take notice of medical negligence cases reported from different parts of the country.

Talking to APP here on Friday she said that medical negligence was a human rights issue and civil society needed to work and create awareness about it among the masses.

“This would help put pressure on service providers, government and legislatures to get rid of this menace,” she said.

Dr Samrina also took strong exception to the role of the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), which she said was in principle required to act as a health regulator and curtail instances of medical negligence committed by physicians and surgeons registered with it.

“Unfortunately, PMDC has largely failed to exercise its authority to check patient rights’ violations,” she alleged.

She said medical malpractices and negligence was a serious issue and required urgent attention of officials concerned.

Criticising the PMDC, she claimed that the council had largely failed even to ensure quality medical education.

PMDC had over the years allowed scores of such medical schools to work that did not even meet the basic criterion required to initiate medical education and training, complained the senior doctor.

A PMDC official, however, when contacted said: “The PMDC Act neither permits us to take action against any negligent doctor in the country nor empowers us to take suo motu actions on such cases.”

A senior PMDC official based in Karachi claimed that PMDC only works in assuring the quality of medical education. Responding to a query, he conceded that PMDC could cancel a doctor’s registration provided he or she was proved guilty under set rules and regulations.