The Supreme Court (SC) was shocked on Wednesday to know that there is only one certified cardiac doctor in whole Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) whereas a total of 40 in entire Punjab.
This was disclosed before a 3-member bench of Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed during the adjudication of a matter relating to substandard stents. Expressing dismay over the performance of the chief executive officer (CEO) of KP healthcare commission, the Chief Justice observed, “It is shocking to have only one certified cardiac doctor in the entire KP province,”. He asked how as many as 4,615 heart procedures were performed in KP during last year with just a single certified cardiac doctor.
The bench further expressed the unregistered and unqualified doctors should not be allowed to perform surgery. “Any negligence in this regard will be the responsibility of the concerned healthcare commission,” the bench said.
Expressing his frustration, the top judge stated that the healthcare CEO should resign from his position. When CEO Punjab Healthcare Commission informed the court that Punjab has a total of 40 certified cardiologists, the Chief Justice observed there should be 40 certified doctors in Lahore alone.
Justice Mazahir Ali Akbar Naqvi maintained that the issue of heart disease has turned into a business and is out of the hands of professional doctors. Regarding the substandard quality of stents, Dr Azhar Kayani stated that the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) did not approve the stents approved by the National Interventional Cardiology Board (NICB). “Substandard stents are being administered to patients instead of the NICB approved ones,” he added.
The SC also ordered Sindh and Balochistan provincial healthcare commissions to submit a report regarding stents. The hearing was adjourned for an indefinite period.
