Passing the buck: Injured Karachi teenager dies after three major hospitals deny treatment

• Teenage boy succumbs to injuries as hospitals refuse admission in Karachi, says Sindh health department official
• He was reportedly denied treatment at Ziauddin, Jinnah and Abbasi Shaheed hospitals.
• Inquiry report submitted to Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho for consideration and action.

A teenager with head injuries from a road accident lost his life after being tossed around Karachi's four hospitals, where he was denied treatment, over a span of at least six hours, Sindh health department officials shared, citing an inquiry report.

“Seventeen-year-old Arif Hashim was denied treatment by the Ziauddin Hospital, Nazimabad; the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital [ASH] and the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre [JPMC] after getting seriously injured in a road accident on September 12. The boy was shifted from one hospital to another without treatment until he died,” a health department official was quoted as saying by The News in a report published Tuesday.

The publication reported that the 17-year-old was found seriously injured on the Liaquatabad bridge at around 1:10 am. Some motorcyclists took him to the nearby privately-run Sambros Hospital in Karimabad. The young man was referred to Ziauddin Hospital, Nazimabad as Sambros Hospital did not have an accident and trauma care facility.

“Instead of treating the patient, the administration of the Ziauddin Hospital put a collar around the fatally-injured boy, maintained an IV line and shifted him to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital,” the health department official was quoted as saying said while citing the inquiry report into the death of the teenager due to denial of treatment to him for several hours.

The Sindh health department official said Abbasi Shaheed Hospital did not have a CT scan facility and its neurosurgery department had been non-functional for the last several months. So the staff at the hospital referred the boy to another hospital - JPMC.

“The CT scan at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital only functions between nine in the morning and nine at night. Similarly, neurosurgery facilities at ASH have not been available for the past several months, so the medical officers and staff at ASH emergency decided to move the patient to the JPMC without even touching him,” claimed the official.

The 17-year-old was then taken to Jinnah hospital's emergency ward, where the staff did not let him enter, the health official shared.

The JPMC staff reportedly refused to treat the boy saying that that they could take in any patient "without any identification and attendant". 

Jinnah hospital's staff then asked the Edhi ambulance driver to take the injured teenager back to ASH, the health official said, quoting ambulance driver Muhammad Junaid.

So Hashim was taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital again, where he was denied treatment for a second time.

He eventually died after suffering for more than six hours without being offered any assistance, said the health department official.

No money, no connections

We are very poor and have no connections, the teenager's brother-in-law, Zulfiqar, told the publication.

He said they will try to register a case against the administrations of all the hospitals whose negligence had led to Hashim's death.

Unidentified injured persons being denied treatment regularly: Edhi officials

Treatment to unidentified injured people is reportedly being denied by the administrations of tertiary-care hospitals regularly.

Edhi officials said such incidents are now happening on a regular basis.

The administrations of tertiary-care hospitals deny treatment because it would require some spending, so the staff of the emergencies try to get rid of such patients by referring them to other hospitals, the Edhi officials said.

Inquiry being handled by Sindh health minister

An inquiry committee into the young man's death has recommended serious legal and departmental action against the in-charges of the emergencies of both ASH and the JPMC, and sacking the entire teams of both the emergency departments, the health official shared.

He said the inquiry is now with Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho for consideration and action.

The News reported that a short video clip was provided to the publication which shows the "gasping boy lying on a stretcher at ASH". 

“The Edhi driver and staff said the patient was alive when he was taken back to ASH, but since no treatment was provided to him, he died after a few minutes,” said the health department official.

Dr Pechuho has been recommended to form a high-level inquiry board to investigate the incident, and to suggest reforms in the emergency and trauma care facilities of Karachi to save lives following road accidents and other such incidents.