KARACHI: Amid growing number of violent incidents at hospitals and attacks on health workers allegedly by attendants of patients, the Sindh government while ordering an inquiry into a recent similar episode at the Civil Hospital Karachi decided on Sunday to register criminal cases of all violent incidents against those responsible.

A key member of the provincial administration said that Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah while taking notice of the violence against the medical staff of the CHK ordered an immediate inquiry into the incident.

“Our doctors, nurses and paramedics are risking their lives to save the lives of others. Such violence against them is intolerable,” said Sindh Information Minister Nasir Shah. “If people had a complaint against the medical staff, they should have talked to the administration and not attacked them.”

He said that a legal action was being taken against all the attackers and cases had been registered against them.

Police are conducting raids to arrest those involved in the CHK violence

He said that a detailed report in this regard would be submitted to the CM soon.

He said that the CM expressed his indignation over all these incidents in which the CHK as well as the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre were vandalised.

Addressing doctors, nurses and paramedical staff of government hospitals, Nasir Shah said that they should not feel alone at all as the government was standing by them.

FIR lodged in CHK violence case

The Eidgah police registered a case against over 20 unknown attendants/relatives of a Covid-19 patient who allegedly misbehaved with doctors and security guards of the CHK on Friday night over a delay in handling over of the body to them.

Area SHO Nadeem Haider said that the FIR was registered on Saturday night against on the complaint of Dr Hafeez Rehman, who works at the ‘corona control room’ of the hospital.

According to the contents of the FIR (248/2020), the 55-year-old patient, who was a resident of Keamari, was brought at the hospital at about 2:14pm on May 29. He passed away during treatment at 7:30 p.m.

The complainant said he was a Covid-19 patient and doctors and staff advised the attendants to follow the standard operating procedures for the Covid-19 patient’s death but they refused.

“At 10:30pm, they started misbehaving with the staff and security guards and forcibly took away the body,” the FIR reads.

The FIR was lodged under Sections 147 (rioting), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 337-A (I) (Shajjah: causing hurt to any person) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Meanwhile City SP-Investigation Mukhtiyar Khaskheli said that some suspects had been identified.

The police conducted raids at their homes in Keamari but no arrests were made as they had allegedly fled.

‘Coronavirus pandemic has saved PTI govt’

Meanwhile, Information Minister Nasir Shah said that the coronavirus pandemic had saved the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government, otherwise everyone could see the state of economy that was due to the failed policies of the incompetent government.

“Everyone knows who is causing controversies in the country,” he said, adding that the seriousness of the prime minister could be gauged from the fact that the first case of Covid-19 was reported in the country on Feb 26 while he convened the first meeting to address this serious issue on March 13. He said that only a tweet came between Feb 26 and March 13.

He said that from the very beginning, the Sindh government tried its best that a unanimous voice should go out in public regarding the steps being taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but it was unfortunate to say that due to the lack of seriousness of the federal government, the sincere attempt of the provincial government failed.

He said that the Sindh government decided to impose a strict lockdown in the province after consulting medical experts.

If the PM at that time had supported Sindh CM regarding a strict lockdown the situation would have been very different today, he said.

“If we had taken appropriate measures at the Iran and Afghanistan borders and at airports in the beginning, we could have prevented the coronavirus from entering the country,” he said.

“Because of the federal government’s failure to make timely decisions, we will now have to deal with the coronavirus for a long time,” he said.

He said that opening of businesses would be allowed but with standard operating procedures.

Mr Shah said that when the PM woke up on March 13 how timely preventive measures could be taken?

He said the Sindh government had been accused from the beginning of intimidating the people.

The information minister said when the doctors held a press conference and talked about the threat of coronavirus they were also accused of holding a press conference at the behest of the Sindh government.

He said that although the Sindh government seemed to be a villain in the eyes of a common man and business community today, but whatever tough decisions it took it did it to save lives.

Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2020