November 15, 2024
Staff Report
LAHORE
A fact-finding committee comprising medical experts and provincial health officers has been constituted to investigate alleged negligence resulting in the transmission of HIV/AIDS virus to around 30 patients who were undergoing dialysis at the Nishtar Hospital in Multan.
The matter came to light after a registered dialysis patient died of complications from HIV/AIDS virus on November 12. He was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS virus after a dialysis session at the hospital last month. Hospital doctors suspected that the above-mentioned patient carried the virus from the dialysis machines meant for HIV-positive cases. Hospital sources revealed that HIV tests of 30 out of the 250 patients registered with the hospital for dialysis came positive, raising fears that they contracted the virus through the three dialysis machines for HIV infected patients.
According to hospital sources, the matter of 30 dialysis patients testing positive came to the knowledge of Dr. Ghulam Abbas, head of the hospital’s nephrology ward, on October 18 but did not inform the provincial senior health officers in Lahore. Local media reports highlighted the matter, and Professor Dr. Mehnaz Khakwani, the Vice Chancellor of Nishtar Medical University, stated that the inquiry related to the matter was ongoing. She did not reveal the committee members nor about when the inquiry committee was to submit their report.
Dr. Ghulam Abbas also officiates as the registrar of the Nishtar Medical University.
Following the reports being flashed on national media, Dr Mohammad Kazim Khan, medical superintendent (MS) of Nishtar Hospital, in a press statement issued on November 14, confirmed that one dialysis patient had tested positive for HIV.
In the statement, Dr Khan said that the institute has been screening the patients for various diseases before starting dialysis as per the standard operating procedures. He added that they routinely received HIV/AIDs positive patients and the institute had designated dialysis machines for these patients.
The MS said that the institute was informed about a patient who had previously been tested negative for HIV/AIDS by the hospital’s labs. During his next visit, he was found HIV positive in the lab reports after which the institute immediately constituted a committee to probe the matter.
Around 240 patients were registered by the hospital for routine dialysis, he added without disclosing whether the hospital inquiry committee has completed their probe and what their findings were.
Fact Finding Committee
After the media spotlight given to the largest public sector hospital in South Punjab facing such massive levels of negligence, the Punjab Health Department set up a fact finding committee under Prof Dr Shahzad Anwar, who is also its convener.
Other members of the committee include the Aids Control Programme project director, head of nephrology department of the Services Hospital Lahore Dr Zahid Rafique, and the Deputy Secretary (Technical) of the Punjab Health department. The panel has been directed to investigate the incident and furnish its recommendations as per the terms of references elaborated in the notification issued on November 14.
According to the TORs, the panel would conduct a fact-finding visit to Nishtar Hospital, interview the maximum available HIV-infected patients to gather information; identify systemic loopholes leading to HIV transmission; determine responsibility for negligence and identify accountable staff/personnel. Additionally, the committee will assess HIV testing availability at Nishtar Hospital and submit recommendations within 48 hours.
The committee’s findings and suggestions will aim to address the incident’s causes and prevent future occurrences.