LAHORE: The Punjab health department has constituted a fact-finding committee of senior medics and health officers to probe into the alleged negligence of the transmission of HIV/AIDS virus among the kidney-failure patients during dialysis and death of one of them at the Nishtar Hospital, Multan.

Punjab Human Organ Transplant Authority (PHOTA) Director Prof Dr Shahzad Anwar has been made the convener of the committee.

The other members included Punjab Aids Control Programme project director, head of nephrology department of the Services Hospital Lahore Dr Zahid Rafique, deputy secretary (technical) of the Punjab health department and any co-opted member.

The committee was directed to investigate the incident and furnish its recommendations as per the terms of references elaborated in the notification issued here on Thursday.

As per the TORs, the committee shall visit the Nishtar Hospital and gather facts about the incident, take history from maximum available HIV infected patients and identify the loopholes in the system leading to the transmission of the HIV and fix responsibility for negligence by identifying the concerned staff/personnel, if any.

The committee was also directed to check the availability of the HIV testing at the Nisthar Hospital and furnish the recommendations in this respect within 48 hours.

Meanwhile, Nishtar Hospital Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Mohammad Kazim Khan said according to the initial information so far, the hospital found one patient tested positive for HIV.

In a statement issued here on Thursday, he said the institute has been screening the patients for various diseases before starting dialysis as per the SOPs.

“It was a routine matter that we used to receive the HIV/AIDs positive patients”, the MS said adding that the institute had designated dialysis machines for these patients.

Recently, he said, the institute was informed about a patient who had previously been tested negative for HIV/AIDS by the hospital’s labs.

During his next visit, he was found HIV positive in the lab reports, the MS said, adding that the institute immediately constituted a committee to probe the matter.

Dr Kazim said as many as 240 patients were registered by the hospital for dialysis.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2024