[Amerworma]

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) government has formed a committee to investigate whether or not its lawmaker Fauzia Wahab died due to medical negligence.
Rehman Malik, the prime minister’s adviser on interior affairs, announced the formation of the inquiry committee on Monday. Wahab died at the Orthopedic Medical Institute (OMI), a private hospital in Karachi, on Sunday.
The committee will be headed by the director general health and will comprise senior doctors. It will investigate whether there was any negligence on the part of the doctors treating Wahab, according to an official statement.
Regarding the terms of reference of the committee, a senior official of the interior ministry told The Express Tribune that the investigation will focus on the time Wahab spent at the OMI till her death.
The committee will investigate the complications that Wahab suffered following her primary gall bladder surgery, which led to internal bleeding, serious breathing problems and ultimately her death. It will also probe into the two additional surgeries which were performed on her to stem internal bleeding.
The team will also recommend a retirement age for surgeons and will also likely spell out guidelines for them on how to operate on a patient in a professional way. The committee will submit its report within two weeks.
Meanwhile, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) raided OMI and seized records of the hospital, reported Express News. The team also questioned three doctors who performed Wahab’s surgery and took them to the FIA headquarters for further investigation.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 19th, 2012.