Darul Sehat Hospital, the only tertiary healthcare facility for 1.7 million people of Gulistan-e-Jauhar, is registered with all relevant authorities and associations as required by law. Dr Naveed Rashid, principal, College of Dentistry, Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry, said this, addressing a press briefing at the hospital, here on Monday.
He said the hospital had treated millions of patients since its inception. More than 225,000 patients treated last year alone. He said Darul Sehat is a tertiary care teaching hospital providing quality healthcare facility for the last 26 years. He said DSH-affiliated medical and dental college also offers undergraduate medical and dental teaching program duly registered with PMDC, JSMU and Karachi University. Its nursing and other paramedics programs were also accredited by Pakistan Nursing Council and Sindh Board of Technical Education.
"It also offers post-graduate medical and dental teaching program with accreditation from the highest degree-awarding bodies of the country such as College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, Higher Education Commission and also running postgraduate programme accredited by the Ziauddin University," he said.
Dr Naveed said that around 780 students are enrolled for quality medical education and around 240 students are being trained as nursing staff. "Demand to seal such well-equipped and state-of-the-art tertiary care hospital is not only unlawful but will create a fearful environment in private healthcare sector," he alerted, adding that it would also tantamount a support to thousands of quackeries leading to risk the lives of innocent people.
He said that such a decision would force many senior consultants to leave the country to avoid frightening environment in the country. He said that 1600 employees of the hospital and their families have been put in disturbing situation with the prevailing uncertainty about their future. Tense situation around the hospital for last few days has also resulted in many female staff finding it difficult to come and perform their duty, he said.
"Nine-month-old Baby Nashwa and her twin-sister were admitted to paediatric ward on April 6 through emergency due to loose motions and vomiting," he said, adding that in the morning of April 7, condition of Nashwa turned bad after the injection was wrongly administered and she was immediately transferred to ICU and ventilated. Her father was given option to shift the baby to AKU/LNH but he preferred to stay at DSH.
Dr Naveed said Nashwa's twin was discharged to home. "On April 8, her father sought summary to consult AKU's PICU consultants who were contacted and briefed about the case. On April 9, the PICU doctor contacted the father as the space was available but he (Qaiser) did not shift the baby as he was satisfied with the treatment at DSH," said Dr Naveed.
On April 10, Nashwa was weaned off from ventilator and the baby was maintaining saturation with oxygen, while a CT scan of her brain was done. He said a neurological opinion was taken from paediatric neurologist of LNH by her father on April 11. "The baby was maintaining saturation on low oxygen and nasogastric feeding was started on April 12. Later, the baby was shifted to LNH on April 15.
"The hospital reiterates its fullest condolence to the family members of Baby Nashwa over her sad demise and we are fully committed to follow the recommendations in its true letter and spirit to mitigate the possibility of any such incident in future," Dr Naveed asserted. The management of the hospital, he said, immediately complied with the relevant orders and they stopped further admissions and closed all OPDs.