KARACHI, Feb 21: The Sindh health department has formed a medical committee to look into the matter of alleged improper handling of a 15-year epilepsy patient at the Aga Khan University Hospital, it was learnt officially.

The mother of the patient, Aariz Ali Shaikh, has been claiming that her son had walked in the hospital for admission, but later he become a complicated medical case for which she held the hospital responsible.

After the first public statements by the parents at a press conference about a week ago, the AKUH repeatedly mentioned that the patient was being provided with compassionate and safe care for the last five months.

An official of the health department said that Sindh Health Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed had also taken notice of the blame game and asked the secretary health to visit the hospital at the earliest to ascertain the facts.

When contacted, Secretary Health Professor Naushad Shaikh told Dawn that he had constituted a three-member medical board, headed Civil Hospital Karachi Neurology Department Chairman Professor Abdullah, to conduct an enquiry and report to him in a week.

He said the committee also included Professor Khalid of the CHK and Professor Zafar Shaheen of Lyari General Hospital.

The committee would examine the patient at the hospital and meet doctors and his parents, he said.

The committee would also suggest future plan of treatment for the patient. The parents of the young patient told Dawn that they did not visit the hospital on Wednesday due to humiliating attitude of the hospital staffs and their seniors towards them.