RAWALPINDI, June 20: Four cases of deaths due to apparent negligence of doctors have surfaced in the Rawalpindi General Hospital (RGH) during the last one month after the hospital took lead in setting up a death inquiry committee to probe such incidents.

The four cases are being further probed to prove conclusively that the deaths had resulted due to the negligence of the medical staff concerned, Additional Medical Superintendent (Administration) Dr Khalid Randhawa told this reporter and added that action would be taken against those found guilty.

A source, giving details of the cases, said a patient named Ayub reported with chest pain, but died after he was neither provided oxygen nor was his ECG done to ascertain his condition. He was not provided any other treatment either.

In the second case, another patient, Mohammad Ayub, who had a history of hyperglycemia, was given 25 per cent dextrose. The doctors on duty had not even bothered to check his blood glucose level.

In yet another case, the meeting was of the consensus that a patient, Ajejan, had died of negligence. In the fourth case a sixteen-year-old boy Waseem, who was suffering from acute appendicitis, was accidentally injected Pavlon.

A few months ago, the RGH's medical superintendent, Dr Mohammad Ali, and AMS (Admin) Dr Khalid Randhawa in collaboration with the hospital's pathology department took initiative and constituted the first death inquiry committee, which went through each and every file of the patient who died and identified suspect cases of negligence for discussion.

Prof Abbas Hayat was appointed secretary of the committee. During the last month, a total of 177 deaths were scrutinized and 16 suspect cases of negligence were brought forward for discussion.