FAISALABAD: Three doctors’ associations on Friday suspended services at the Outpatient Department of the Allied Hospital and protested against the Civil Lines police who arrested a senior doctor following the death of a girl at his clinic.

Members of the Pakistan Medical Association, the Young Doctors Association and the Medical Teachers Association gave the protest call following the arrest of PMA Punjab chairman Dr Tufail Muhammad.

The doctors said an eight-year-old girl of Pir Mahal was undergoing dialysis treatment at Dr Tufail’s clinic on Sargodha Road and her condition deteriorated. She was shifted to the Allied Hospital but the girl did not survive.

The girl’s family wailed and cried and also called up Rescue 15 team, the doctors said, adding that the policemen ransacked the clinic and harassed the employees.

Dr Muhammad Irfan of the PMA said even after his retirement Dr Tufail was serving the Allied Hospital without getting even a penny due to the shortage of nephrologists in Faisalabad. He said Dr Tufail enjoyed a good reputation and had no fault in the death of the girl but the Civil Lines SHO and DSP raided his private clinic on Thursday night and took him to the police station without any kind of proof against him or the instructions of the Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) which monitors the healthcare system, Dr Irfan claimed.

He said the Punjab government had time and again directed the police not to arrest any doctor on the complaints of patients to enable the PHC to conduct its own probe.

The doctors said Regional Police Officer Ghulam Mahmood Dogar intervened and ensured the release of Dr Tufail. They demanded that the police higher-ups take action against the policemen who had taken Dr Tufail into custody.

Published in Dawn, July 14th, 2018