On November 29, 2009 at 3 am in the morning my 3 year old daughter, Imanae, spilt hot water on her wrist. My wife and I immediately took her to Doctors Hospital and Medical Center in Johar Town, Lahore. Although it was a very small burn, we chose to go to the hospital as our baby was in a lot of pain and we wanted her hurt to go away as quickly as possible.
At the hospital we were met by the emergency ward staff, who applied an ointment on her hand and gave her an injection to soothe the pain. When Imanae continued to cry because of the pain, the nurse called the doctor on duty. I noticed when he walked into the room that he had obviously been asleep and had just been woken up.
The doctor instructed the nurse to give Imanae another injection. Imanae however continued to cry. Fifteen minutes later, the sleepy doctor instructed the nurse to inject Imanae with the 3rd injection. All in all, 5mg of this anesthetic/pain killer was given. This was the moment when my little baby went silent and started losing consciousness. Just before she totally passed out, she started calling out my name and saying that everything was getting blurred and she couldn't see clearly. Little did I know that these were the last words my daughter would ever say.
I asked the doctor what was happening to my daughter, he assured me that she was FINE and was just SLEEPING, and left the room. I however wasn’t satisfied and checked Imanae myself to see if I could feel her breath or hear her heartbeat.
When I couldn't feel either of the two, I immediately informed the nurse. She called the doctor again who used a Heart Beat Monitor to examine Imanae. There was no reading on the monitor. I asked the doctor what that signified and he told me that since the monitor was intended for adult use, it could not detect my baby's hear beat. I WISH I HAD ASKED HIM THEN WHY HE WAS USING IT ON MY HELPLESS AND UNCONSCIOUS CHILD AND WASTING PRECIOUS TIME!!!
At this point, some other doctors present on duty at the hospital joined him as well. They connected Imanae to an ECG machine, but that too also only reported a straight line. My wife asked why the line was straight but the doctors did not reply. They kept on stating that she was fine and was just having some breathing problems. All the doctors present on the scene, started conferring between themselves as they continued to examine her. They continued to ignore our repeated pleas on what was happening to our daughter.
They then started giving her CPR and it was at this point I realised that my baby's life was in danger. The doctors however kept reassuring us that she was fine. They continued conferring between themselves and I was certain that something had gone horribly wrong. Another 20 or so minutes passed in this torture and confusion. They continued to reassure us that she was ok!! IF SHE WAS OK, WHY WAS THERE NO PULSE ON THE ECG...WHY WAS THERE NO HEARTBEAT...WHY WERE THEY GIVING HER CPR, IF SHE WAS OK.....WHY WHY!!!
Finally, one of the doctor told me that she was having difficulty breathing and because Doctors Hospital did NOT HAVE a baby Ventilator we should take her to some other hospital before her condition worsened. They suggested we take her either to Ittefaq hospital or to Fatima Memorial, or that we take her to Ward 23 of the Children's Hospital.
I asked them for an ambulance because she was connected to all kinds of machines, but they told me that the ambulance was not available. However, if we still wanted one...we would have to WAIT for half an hour!!! My baby was not breathing and they wanted me to wait for half an hour!!
I decided to take my dying Imanae in my own car and pleaded with them to give me a doctor to accompany us to Children's Hospital. I did not know what was wrong with her and wanted someone to come along and explain what exactly her condition was. I wanted a list of injections and other medicines given to her, to give to the doctors at Children's Hospital. I wanted a copy of her ECG report.....
Nothing was given......and a WARD boy asked to go along.
It took us 15 minutes to reach Children's Hospital.....where we were told that my 3 year old daughter...my only child...the light of my life...my reason for living...was DEAD!!
Apparently, I am not the only one who has had his life shattered by this hospital. There are several similar incidents where Doctors Hospital have dumped patients whose treatments they have botched, on to other hospitals.
With your help, I have discovered several other cases that strongly indicate malpractice and gross negligence by this hospital.
If you are a victim of Doctors Hospital or know of someone who suffered at their hands, please let us know so that we can put it forward and bring the culprits to justice.
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