SHEIKHUPURA, Oct 11: Three children died in the absence of doctors at the local district headquarters (DHQ) hospital the other day.

Sources said one and a half years old Laila of Muhalla Tarkhanawala, Farooqabad, was taken to the DHQ hospital in critical condition for treatment of burns. She needed to be administered oxygen, but there were only two gas cylinders being used by other children.

There were only paramedics on duty, who did not know how to deal with the burns victim. Meanwhile, Laila’s condition deteriorated and she breathed her last.

The other two children also died later on due to lack of doctors in the ward.

When parents and relatives of the deceased children protested against the apathy of hospital management, the MS, Capt Ghulam Shabir Malik (retired), called the police to humiliate the protesters. The matter came to the notice of the press when EDO (Health) Dr Javed Akhtar constituted a three-member team to probe the issue.

The Citizens’ Welfare Society, at an emergency meeting presided over by G.A. Chaudhry, deplored the negligence of doctors at the DHQ hospital.

Talking to reporters, Mr Chaudhry alleged that most of the doctors in the hospital preferred to examine patients in their private clinics instead of hospitals. “The doctors have set up private clinics on the premises of hospital.”

Even during the duty hours, the doctors stayed away from their offices, and sat either in the MS office gossiping with him or in their clinics charging every patient Rs200, he alleged.

Mr Chaudhry said that doctors of the same hospital in the so-called inquiry team could not be expected to give a fair report against their colleagues. He urged the governor, chief minister, health minister and health secretary to initiate an impartial inquiry against the negligent doctors.

Fathers of the deceased children, Amin Dogar and Asif Bhatti, demanded strict action against the doctors.

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