The police claimed that the FIR was lodged following a complaint by lawyer Aamir Lutf Ali Zardari, father of the deceased.
HYDERABAD:
The Sindh Healthcare Commission (SHCC) has opposed the registration of an FIR on doctors of Liaquat Teaching Hospital in a case related to the death of a youth due to dengue virus caused by alleged negligence of the hospital. In a letter addressed to the Market police station officer on Monday, the commission’s executive director, Dr Ahsan Qavi Siddiqui, stressed that the police cannot precede the commission in investigating allegations against a health professional.
He referred to Article 29 of the SHCC Law of 2013, which prohibited the police from carrying out such action. “No suit, suit, or other legal proceeding relating to the provision of health care services shall be brought against a health care provider except under this Act,” the reference in the letter reads.
“This legal provision establishes that any complaint of medical negligence by a health care provider will first be subject to a technical investigation by the SHCC.” The CEO reiterated that under the law only the SHCC can investigate and determine whether the alleged acts constituted medical negligence.
Siddiqui emphasized that the matter should be handed over to the SHCC for further investigation. On October 28, Market Police Station registered an FIR, naming Prof Dr Iqbal Shah, LUH Medical Superintendent Dr Akbar Dahiri, Dr Musarat Baloch and some other doctors under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
The police claimed that the FIR was lodged following the complaint of lawyer Aamir Lutf Ali Zardari, father of the deceased Hasnain Ali Zardari.
Zardari blamed the accused doctors for their negligence during the medical treatment of his deceased son. The FIR provoked a strong reaction from the medical community.
