Lahore hospital denies negligence after patient dies during ward brawl
A young patient died at Gulab Devi Hospital in Lahore after a fight broke out between a female doctor and women in his ward, Dawn and The News reported. His family says his care was stopped during the fight. The hospital denies this, and a young doctors' group condemned what it called an assault on the doctor.
A young male patient died at Gulab Devi Hospital in Lahore, Pakistan, after a physical fight broke out between a female doctor and women attending patients in his ward, Dawn and The News reported. The News reported that the death came on Sunday.
The patient had been brought in with a serious chest condition, Dawn and The News reported. His family alleged that his treatment was stopped during the dispute and that this led to his death, Dawn and The News reported.
The hospital rejected that account. Its administration denied that the patient died because of a lack of treatment, saying he was already critically ill, Dawn and The News reported. The medical superintendent said the patient had been put on a ventilator and that senior doctors kept treating him after the fight, Dawn reported.
Accounts of the fight differ. Dawn reported that a video clip shared on social media shows the doctor rushing toward a female attendant and slapping her, and that both sides reportedly exchanged blows. Hospital officials and the Young Doctors Association said the doctor was assaulted by three women after she tried to take a phone that one of them was using to record, The News reported.
The family also alleged that the women were locked in a room, Dawn and The News reported. Dawn reported that relatives blamed male doctors and hospital security staff.
Police detained women involved in the fight, Dawn and The News reported. Two women were held and produced before a court, The News reported.
The Young Doctors Association in Punjab condemned the assault on the doctor and demanded better security for health workers, Dawn and The News reported. The group announced a protest and called for a law to protect doctors from violence, The News reported.
The hospital is conducting an internal inquiry into the incident, The News reported. Dawn reported that the hospital refused to open an inquiry into the family's negligence claims.
What we know: A patient died at Gulab Devi Hospital after a fight between a doctor and women in the ward, and his family and the hospital give conflicting accounts.
What we don't: Whether any inquiry will examine the family's claim that treatment was stopped.
Where outlets agree Dawn and The News report that a patient died at Gulab Devi Hospital in Lahore after a fight between a female doctor and women in the ward, that his family blames a halt in treatment and that the hospital denies it.
Where they differ Dawn reports that a viral video shows the doctor rushing at an attendant and slapping her, while The News reports hospital officials and young doctors saying the doctor was assaulted by three women.