DAWN.COM
The drugs reaction scandal claimed lives of another four patients in the city on Tuesday raising the death toll to 71 so far.
A health department spokesman confirmed 69 deaths at various government hospitals.
In a handout issued on Tuesday, the spokesman said 38 patients died at Services Hospital, 13 at Sir Ganga Ram and nine each at Jinnah and Mayo.
However, the death toll given by King Edward Medical University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Asad Aslam was different to that of the health department spokesman.
Dr Asad told Dawn that a total of 11 cardiac patients died at Mayo Hospital during the last three weeks or so.
The spokesman further said that 352 cardiac patients of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology were shifted to various hospitals of the city since the incidence of reaction to suspected drugs surfaced. “Of them, 174 are still under treatment at hospitals.”
Of the four fresh victims, Tufail Ahmad of Bhalwal and Sher Muhammad of Shahdara died at Punjab Institute of Cardiology and Israr Ahmad at Services. Zulfiqar Ali succumbed to cardiac disease at his Dharampura residence.
According to sources, they had consumed suspected drugs disbursed by the PIC free of cost.
They said another 44 patients were shifted to different public sector hospitals of the city on Tuesday following the cardiac complications they faced after consuming drugs.
Of them, 29 were reported to the Jinnah, six to the Lahore General Hospital, five to Services and four patients to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, the sources said.
Allama Iqbal Medical College Principal Prof Dr Javed Akram confirmed admission of 29 new patients to Jinnah Hospital, saying that a majority of them was having low platelets and white blood counts after they consumed suspected drugs. “The Jinnah Hospital has received a total of 81 patients for the last three weeks or so.”
The KEMU vice-chancellor said Mayo Hospital received 70 cardiac patients of PIC from Jan 4 to 24.
Of them, he said 11 died of suspected drugs reaction while 37 were still under treatment for the complications of cardiac diseases. All of them were registered patients of the PIC, he said.
LGH Medical Superintendent Dr Muhammad Ahsan told this reporter that out of total 11 patients, three had been discharged after necessary treatment while eight were admitted yet.
Later addressing a press conference on Tuesday night, Dr Javed Akram said the chief minister had changed medicine purchase protocol. He said post mortem of every victim would be conducted. “We have withdrawn the suspected drugs from 9,000 patients so far.”
Speaking on the occasion, MPA Khwaja Salman Rafiq said the Punjab government would grant Rs500,000 compensation to family of each patient who died and Rs 200,000 to those who were under treatment.
Meanwhile, some patients and their relatives lodged a protest outside the PIC shortly after they were refused the required quantity of the medicines.
The patients alleged that the PIC administration had given them only two kinds of medicines out of the combination of four to five drugs they had been taking earlier from the institute.
They said the given medicines were for one week use only while in the past they had been taking a stock of one month at least.
As most of the agitators were belonging to other districts, they said, being members of poor families it was not possible for them to bear travelling cost every week to get medicines from an institute located in the provincial capital.
According to the health department spokesman, 178 cardiac patients have been discharged from various hospitals of the city after treatment.
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