Akram says doctors in Pak took no pain for treating Huma

M Zulqernain
Lahore, Dec 13 (PTI) Cricket legend Wasim Akram has said
doctors in India tried their best to save the life of his wife
Huma and accused their counterparts in Pakistan of only being
interested in making money, days after a Parliamentary panel
directed authorities to cancel licences of 22 physicians in
Lahore who treated her.
"The doctors of hospitals in Lahore took no pain for
treating" Huma, who died in Chennai in October, "as they
failed to diagnose her problems. They were more interested in
making money," Akram told PTI.
"After failing to cure Huma, they asked me to pay 150,000
dollars to arrange an air ambulance to Singapore for her
treatment," he said.
Akram also refuted claims by doctors in Lahore that
Huma's condition had been improving before the unsuccessful
move was made to shift her to Singapore.
"I would make calls (to the doctors) but they were not
available...," he said.
After 42-year-old Huma's condition worsened while she was
being flown to Singapore in October, the flight was diverted
to Chennai. Huma, a psychologist by profession, was admitted
to a private hospital in Chennai, where she died after a week.
Akram said the doctors in India did their best to save
his wife and Apollo Hospital in Chennai refused to charge even
a penny for her treatment.
A Pakistani parliamentary panel last week asked
authorities to cancel the licences of 22 doctors in Lahore who
were involved in treating Huma.
Asked whether he was satisfied at the cancellation of the
licences of these doctors, Akram said he did not want to
comment on the issue but "something had to be done to stop"
the practice of doctors not taking proper care of patients.
While appearing before the standing committee on health
of the National Assembly or lower house of parliament, Akram
earlier said no medical protocol was followed in Lahore's
Doctors Hospital and National Defence Hospital, where senior
doctors pay only brief visits to patients while all matters
are managed by junior doctors.
The committee unanimously agreed that Huma's death was
caused by "criminal negligence" on the part of doctors at both
these hospitals.
It recommended that the Pakistan Medical and Dental
Council (PMDC) immediately cancel the licence of 22 senior
doctors.
"We will not only cancel their licences but also hold a
trail of the doctors in question under our rules," PMDC
President Sibtul Hasnain told PTI.
A senior official of National Defence Hospital said the
parliamentary panel's direction will be challenged in court.
He claimed Akram's decision of shift his wife to
Singapore was responsible for her death. PTI MZ
SKT