Muhammad Farhan[/caption] Assistant Professor Dr Siddique Ahmad of HMC, who hails from Chitral, has also been issued a notice for alleged negligence in the death of 13-year-old Muhammad Farhan in July this year. The doctors concerned have been directed to submit their comments to the PMDC in 21 days. Muhammad Farhan was a student of Class-6 at the Peshawar Public School, Peshawar. According to Mr Farooqui, his son suddenly felt pain in his abdomen and started vomiting and was rushed to the Government Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital (City Hospital) Kohat Road Peshawar on July 28. But the doctors there sent him back home with an opinion that he had an injury to the stomach. Farhan was rushed back to the same hospital when he again complained of pain in the abdomen. In the hospital, an ultrasound was conducted on July 29 but without thoroughly examining the patient the doctors sent him back home. It showed that either the doctors were not competent or the ultrasound was not working properly because they did not diagnose his appendix. As time passed, little Farhan’s condition continued deteriorating and he was rushed to the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) on July 30. Once in the main OPD, the doctors again ignored him and prescribed a long list of medicines. “Doctors were in fact motivating the attendant to take him to their private clinic but we had no money to afford treatment at a private clinic.” The same day, Farhan’s health worsened and he started complaining of a severe pain with vomiting at 11pm and was taken to the main emergency casualty department of the LRH where he was referred to the surgical ward. However, senior doctors once again ignored the patient and did not bother to properly examine him. His mother cried again and again and begged to the doctors for his early treatment but they did not respond. He was discharged at 1am the next day after writing some prescriptions saying he had a simple injury to the stomach. But Farhan continued crying of severe pain after reaching home on July 31 till August 1. On Aug 2, Farhan was taken to the Hayatabad Medical Complex where doctors said he had appendicitis and admitted him to the surgical ward A. His father said he requested Dr Siddique Ahmad Chitrali on phone, who is a surgeon at the same ward, for special care of his son but to no avail. After a long delay, Farhan was operated upon in the evening. But on Aug 3, at 3am, he became serious and there was no vacant bed in the surgical incentive unit. An uncle of Farhan rushed to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) and arranged a bed at the ICU where Farhan was shifted at 7:30am. However, after an hour, he died there. The parents alleged that senior doctors cared and operated only those patients who approached their private clinics but ignored poor patients who cannot pay them huge fee in their private hospitals or clinics.]]>
