I WAS sitting comfortably sipping coffee and listening to a friend narrate her harrowing experience with a private hospital in Islamabad. I remember thinking to myself that she is being dramatic and must be exaggerating. A year later I had a similar and traumatic experience in the same city.

Once we had picked up the strands of our lives again we decided to meet the management of the hospital, thinking that informing them about the cracks in their organisational structure and the negligence by their medical team would be appreciated since their profession involves saving lives. However, to our utter amazement, the response we received was: ‘You are free to go elsewhere.’ The only other option was a long-drawn-out court battle. Now many weeks later, as we try and recover physically and emotionally, my friend’s words echo in my head.

The European Convention on Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights lay down primary and secondary rights to which every human being is entitled.

The primary rights are unequivocal and cannot be denied whereas the secondary rights (socio-economic rights) can be departed from/denied by the state in certain conditions. The cardinal and most significant among primary rights is the right to life. It is to protect this right that doctors and other healthcare providers take an oath upon entering the profession.

There are no real remedies for medical negligence/malpractice in Pakistan, no redressal mechanisms and certainly no standards/guidelines to be followed. In a country where taking away this right due to sheer negligence has zero consequences, one wonders what the future holds. If the most basic right of right to life is treated in such a cavalier manner, are we delusional to expect social and economic rights?

Maham Durrani

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2017