GILGIT: An infant girl lost her life due to the alleged negligence of an on-call emergency doctor at City Hospital Gilgit, who what the family claimed “prioritised his private clinic over an urgent medical case”.
According to an FIR application submitted by the victim’s father at the Cant Police Station in Kashrote, Gilgit, the incident occurred on the morning of August 26. The father, a resident of the Konodas area in Gilgit, said in his complaint that his daughter, identified as Sanazleen, fell severely ill around 11:30 am. In a desperate attempt to save her, the family rushed her to City Hospital in Kashrote.
After conducting an initial examination, the attending Medical Officer deemed the girl’s condition critical and immediately contacted Dr Abdul Bari, the on-call duty doctor. Despite repeated calls informing him of the emergency and requesting his presence, Dr Bari allegedly displayed gross negligence and a lack of professional responsibility by failing to attend to the case.
According to the father, Dr Bari did not arrive at the hospital until 3pm, several hours after being informed of the emergency. The father claimed that instead of attending to the critical case, he suggested that the girl be brought to his private clinic, a recommendation perceived as a means to prioritize financial gain over patient care.
With no other option, the family was forced to transport the critically ill girl to the doctor’s private clinic without the support of oxygen. However, as they approached the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) Gilgit, her condition deteriorated further. Upon arrival at CMH, despite their best efforts, the minor girl passed away before receiving any treatment.
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The grieving father accused Dr Bari of criminal negligence, stating that his daughter’s untimely death was a direct result of the doctor’s irresponsibility and failure to provide timely medical intervention. He has called for legal action to be taken against Dr Bari to ensure justice is served. The police did not register the FIR against the doctor till the filing of this report.
Speaking to HUM News English, Dr Bari stated that Monday was a holiday due to Chehlum, and although he visited the hospital in the morning to check on patients and take a round of the wards, he returned home afterward. He explained that on holidays, consultant doctors usually do not attend OPDs, leaving medical officers and trainee doctors to handle emergencies.
According to Dr Bari, he was the on-call doctor that day and was actively engaged until 3pm, after which his duty ended, and he went to his private clinic in the Jutial area of Gilgit.
Dr Bari recounted that at around 3:21pm, he received a call from the on-duty doctor at City Hospital, who informed him that a 5 to 6-month-old child had been brought in and initially responded to treatment, but her condition was now deteriorating.
Dr Bari inquired about the medicines and injections administered, which he confirmed were appropriate. He advised that if these treatments did not work, the patient should be placed on a ventilator. Dr. Bari noted that no public hospital in Gilgit, except CMH, is equipped with a ventilator.
He stated that in such cases, families are informed of the option to transfer the patient to CMH if they can afford it; otherwise, treatment continues at the hospital, leaving the outcome to fate.
Dr Bari asserted that he instructed the on-duty doctor to counsel the girl’s parents accordingly, which they accepted. The girl was subsequently transferred to CMH in a City Hospital ambulance with oxygen, but she unfortunately passed away at CMH.
The doctors claimed that a group of 12 to 15 people forcibly entered his clinic and attacked him. He said that patients and others present at the clinic intervened to protect him.
Dr Abdul Bari has filed an FIR application at the Jutial Police Station against the girl’s family, accusing them of attacking his clinic in a fit of rage following the girl’s death.
The doctor claimed that a group of young men vandalised his clinic, shattering its windows, and demanded that strict action be taken against those responsible.