Over a dozen people lose eyesight allegedly after undergoing surgery at Multan hospital

• 16 people who underwent eye surgeries at a local private hospital in Multan have allegedly become blind.
• All individuals, seven of whom are women, experienced pain in their eyes a few hours after their respective surgeries.
• One of them, Rana Abdul Malik, said they paid for their March 20, 2021, surgery via the Sehat Insaf Card.

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MULTAN: More than a dozen people claimed Friday to have lost their eyesight at the same time allegedly after their respective surgeries at a local private hospital here in the city.

All 16 individuals — among whom seven are women — experienced pain in their eyes a few hours after their respective surgeries at the private hospital on March 20, 2021, said one of the patients, who identified himself as Rana Abdul Malik.

Malik, who claims that he's blind now, told Geo News that all the patients used the Sehat Insaf Card — a flagship public health initiative by the incumbent PTI government — for their eye operations. The surgeries, he added, were carried out by Dr Hasnain Mushtaq.

'Forced to take medicine'

"Once the bandage was removed, I knew my eye had been ruined. The pain continued while I was at home, throughout the night, and then, in the morning, I called the doctor," one of the patients said.

"The doctor prescribed medicine and then all of us went to the hospital, where some were admitted while others were forced to take medicine and asked to return to their homes."

The patient said he went to two other doctors "who told me my eye had been completely damaged [and] asked me why I went to that hospital".

Upon learning about the pain in their eyes, the hospital's administration admitted the 16 people, kept them overnight, and discharged them in the morning.

The patients, all of whom have lost their eyesight, are currently undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Multan and Lahore.

Operating theatre 'not properly disinfected'

Geo News correspondent Imran Chaudhry reported that the patients — almost all of whom were poor and elderly — visited the nursing and teaching hospital after it had put up a banner announcing eye operations for the first time.

In this regard, Dr Mushtaq — the eye surgeon who performed the operation — told Geo News via phone that there was no negligence in the process. An infection, he claimed, had affected the eyesight of all 16 people.

The doctor also expressed suspicion that the operation theatre, which came into use for the first time for eye surgeries, was not properly disinfected.

The victims have demanded higher authorities to investigate the incident and provide them justice.