The overall death toll spurred by the reaction of heart medicines at Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) surged to 77 as one more patient was died here on Wednesday due to reaction of medicines.
Meantime, Punjab Health Department issued notification regarding the post mortem of the people killed by drug reaction.
Several patients are still being treated at various government
hospitals and Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has ordered that all
facilities be provided to them.
Shahbaz Sharif has also announced compensation of Rs 500,000 for the victims’ families and Rs 200,000 for patients.
Teams are visiting neighbourhoods across the city gathering the substandard medicine.
Bilquis Bibi, 58, resident of Sandaa area in Lahore died at Meo Hospital.
Prof Dr Javed Akram, head of investigation team probing deaths caused
by drugs, had earlier said death toll could cross alarming figure of
150 to 200.
He had said probe team asked pharmaceutical companies about record of
medicines. He said some 24,000 to 25,000 patients have taken those
substandard drugs from different government hospitals, including
Pakistan Institute of Cardiology, in Lahore. He said the factory
providing substandard medicines should be sealed.
Dr Akram said many of the patients admitted to hospitals in Lahore
due to the usage of these medicines were in critical condition.
It is worthy to mention that preliminary inquiry had cleared the
Punjab Institute of Cardiology of negligence while the tragedy was yet
unfolding.
The Outdoor Patients Department of the Punjab Institute of Cardiology
provides free medicine to the needy patients, but after using these
medicines, a number of patients from various localities started pouring
into city’s hospitals with complaints of bleeding from nose, ears and
other body parts.
The steering committee set up to probe the issue has termed it a
calamity. The committee chairman Khawaja Salman Rafiq said the
provincial government was forced to buy medicines from the companies
listed by federal government.
He said the plan is being formulated for future purchase of the
medicines, adding the suspicious have been taken back from 9,000
patients. SANA
