Punjab forms committee to probe HIV infections at Nishter Hospital

Lahore: The Punjab Secretary of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education has appointed a four-member fact-finding committee to probe the incident of patients infected with HIV at Nishtar Hospital Multan.

The committee has been formed on the instructions of provincial Health Minister Khawaja Salman Rafique after negligence on the part of the staff in the dialysis unit was brought to light. 

Director General PHOTA Prof Shahzad Anwar, Project Director Punjab AIDS Control Program, Head of Nephrology Prof Dr Zahid Rafique of Sims Lahore and Deputy Secretary Technical from the Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education are part of this fact-finding committee.

The committee will visit Nishtar Hospital Multan, collect all the evidence and seek facts from as many AIDS patients as possible. The body will then determine the persons responsible for the incident and submit a report. The fact-finding committee will also review the HIV testing facilities at Nishtar Hospital, Multan.

The provincial health secretary has directed the fact-finding committee to submit the investigation report of the Nishtar Hospital Multan incident in the next 48 hours.