According to a widely circulating video, a woman named Amna Aftaab, brought her daughter into the hospital that morning, after she had suffered a cardiac arrest.
Instead of attending to her, multiple Doctors continued to send her to different rooms, running different tests and delaying her treatment.
Understandably distraught, the mother confronted the two men working at the help desk and began to record their interaction.
Hospital security was called and who seemed to be one of the administrators walked in on the scene but hurriedly walked away from the situation once he realized she could not be toned down.
Of course, since we have only seen and heard one side of the story, we cannot say who was at fault and thus cannot place direct blame upon the hospital.
However, unfortunately, this is not an uncommon issue for hospitals in Pakistan. Patients are juggled from one hand to the next unless they are able to afford ‘VIP’ level clearance, which is mostly reserved for politicians and the wealthy elite. The majority of Pakistani citizens are instead told to wait, sometimes even during emergency situations where medical attention is absolutely necessary.
The video garnered a ton of attention and horror of Pakistanis all over social media.
People all over social media have been commenting on the video and how absolutely horrific it was.
Do NOT ever go to National Hospital Lahore!! Raise your voice against it, PLEASE!!!! Aik toh logon ko maarty hain aur aagy se batameezi krty hain!! Strict actions should be taken against them!! https://t.co/traXCnTnFm
— Komal Shahid (@ArmedWithWords) February 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/m026_raja/status/1097273616687874049
nowadays over hospitals same like business point . or like hotels check out his receipt first time i saw this type hospital it’s same like club
— No War . 90s⭐️ 🇵🇰🥂🇺🇸 🇫🇷 (@Mirzajaan4) February 17, 2019
This is what happens when you make healthcare as business
— Danish Ghazi (@dg_313) February 17, 2019
https://twitter.com/DrMolarBear/status/1097355285222559744
This is heartbreaking
— Chill Seeker (@WaldyKKhan) February 18, 2019
Since the video went wild, National Hospital released its own statement with regards to the video.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuDOGW6nRVo/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=19j4sliqwlw0x
The Hospital stated that the woman brought in her daughter earlier that day and she was treated with the right attention with specialized doctors coming in to check her. Her levels remained stable and after a while, her mother requested her to be discharged from the hospital. However, it was later that day when the mother came back to shout at the Hospital staff.
We have heard both sides of the story and though the life of a child is of the utmost importance to protect, it is always necessary to understand the whole situation.
However, health care is one of the things in a country that should never be neglected. The welfare of its citizens is the most important thing the government should be focusing on and treatment of patients in hospitals like this is extremely concerning for all of us.
