A Sadiqabad-based taxi driver, who recently underwent treatment for health complications caused by obesity, passed away on Monday after he was left unattended due to commotion in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in Lahore.
Noorul Hassan, weighing 330kg, had made national headlines last month when he was airlifted on a Pakistan Army helicopter to Lahore for treatment on special directives from Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa.
According to 55-year-old Noor’s doctor, Dr Maazul Hassan, a top laparoscopic surgeon in Lahore, a female patient had passed away at the Shalamar Hospital on Monday after which her relatives reached the hospital and expressed concern about her death.
In the chaos that ensued, Noor and a second patient died “due to the unavailability of staff”, Dr Maaz said while talking to a private news channel. He added that the relatives of the female patient had not intended to cause the deaths but the situation worsened due to the violence.
Additional Medical Superintendents (AMS) Dr Rizwan and Dr Nayar said that relatives of the female patient had broken windows, switched ventilators off and hit doctors. They added that nurses had left the ICU during the commotion.
A spokesperson for the hospital said that they were investigating the incident and needed to look at CCTV footage. The spokesperson said that chaos had broken out in the hospital during which everyone was trying to save themselves.
Dr Maaz said that he was not present in the hospital during the episode but was told that “a lot of damage” had been done.
He explained that while the chaos was taking place, Noor was feeling unwell and was left unattended for nearly an hour.
“When they (hospital staff) noted this, they attempted to resuscitate him, but were unable to successfully do so,” Dr Maaz said.
“You can’t directly blame anyone but staff should have been present,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Punjab Healthcare Commission confirmed the deaths while announcing that a three-member committee had been formed that had started investigations.
Dr Maaz said that a day earlier, Noor’s family had shared the positive progress his health had made. He said that the patient had been kept on elective ventilation after he experienced breathing problems so that he could be discharged after six or seven days.
He said that Noor’s death had occurred at 8:15am. Noor’s son said that doctors were not responsible for his father’s death. He said that Noor was to be removed from the ventilator on the day of the incident. His wife added that doctors had said that her husband had suffered a heart attack.
Noor, a resident of Islampura in Sadiqabad – had appealed to Gen Bajwa on the social media to take notice of his predicament and assist him in seeking treatment.
Sadiqabad Assistant Commissioner Kashif Dogar had told a national daily that Noor could not travel in an ambulance by road due to his weight and that he was a poor taxi driver who resided in a small house.
During the process of shifting him, Rescue 1122 personnel had broken the main door and wall of Noor’s house to bring him out. Dogar said the rescue team had shifted him onto a mini truck and transported him to a football ground in Sadiqabad where a helipad was fashioned for the air ambulance’s landing.
