JHANG, May 14: Scores of patients and visitors to the District Headquarters Hospital have expressed concern over what they termed apathy of doctors at the emergency unit.

Dawn learnt on Tuesday that about half a dozen people had died at the hospital during the last six months due to absence of specialists.

On Oct 26, 2001, councillor Bashir Ahmad Tarar was brought to the emergency ward after he was grievously injured in an attack. He was bleeding profusely.

Since there was no doctor to provide him the first-aid, a surgeon was called from his house. But he refused to visit the hospital out of his time for private clinic.

The relatives of the injured blocked the traffic on the Jhang-Gojra Road to air their protest until police had to intervene and to call the surgeon. However, it was too late and the councillor died on the operation bed.

A few months later, 19-year-old Osama alias Moon, who received head injury in a motorcycle accident, was brought to the hospital’s emergency ward. There was not even a single doctor to attend him and he was kept lying in the corridor for hours until he breathed his last.

A couple of days later, an injured coachman came to the emergency ward. A doctor on duty demanded that he should submit Rs15,000 as operation fee.

The poor coachman succumbed to injuries 36 hours after his arrival.

The health minister had ordered a probe into the incident and constituted a three-member committee, headed by Toba district health officer.

Preliminary findings declared two surgeons guilty of negligence that led to the deaths of Osama and Zulfiqar.

The Punjab health director general is currently conducting the final inquiry.

Recently, the doctors on duty denied treatment to journalist Khurram Saeed who was brought to the emergency ward following a motoring accident.

Despite his father’s pleadings, the doctors remained adamant to their refusal. Later, the injured was taken to Allied Hospital.

Jhang union of journalists passed a resolution against the apathy of the DHQ hospital medical superintendent and other doctors. This correspondent learnt the MS lived in Faisalabad where he ran his private clinic. He travel daily from Faisalabad to Jhang by a hospital ambulance.

A senior doctor, on the condition of anonymity, told this correspondent that the MS hardly spent two to three hours daily at the hospital to mark his presence. He was always in a hurry to return home and practise at his private clinic, he added.

Refuting the charges, the MS said he did not run a clinic in Faisalabad. He also denied using hospital’s ambulance as personal transport.