SUKKUR: A patient died under mysterious circumstances at the Jacobabad Institute of Medical Sciences (JIMS) on Tuesday minutes after he was taken to its emergency ward. His relatives, enraged over alleged callous attitude of doctors on duty, disrupted the routine activities at the ward by holding a protest sit-in and demanding action against doctors.

The protesters, including Khuda Bukhsh, Mehmood and Abdul Sattar, belonging to the Banglani community of Jongal Khoso village, told reporters that they had brought Mohammed Sachal Banglani, 55, to the emergency ward in a precarious condition but doctors on duty spared only a few minutes to see him and then left.

They said the patient was taken inside the ward for further check-up but they [relatives] were asked to wait outside “until the ongoing inspection by high-ups is over”.

“When we were allowed into the ward again later, we saw Sachal lying on the floor instead of a bed and a fresh injury on his head was quite visible. We lifted him up but he had already died,” they said.

In reply to a question, they explained that Bachal was suffering from TB and was rushed to the hospital when his condition deteriorated.

They demanded action against the doctors who did not pay due attention to the emergency case and demonstrated callousness.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2018