Services Hospital: panel finds no evidence of sexual assault

LAHORE: A fact-finding inquiry committee has denied allegations of a female patient of sexual abuse by employees of the Services Hospital during treatment.

Headed by Services Hospital Professor of Gynae Rakhshan Shaheen Najmi, the five-member committee finalised its report and submitted it to the health department for further action. Other members of the committee included Prof Rubina Sohail, Prof Dr Arif Rasheed, Dr Sumira Qambar and Dr Tehseen Ubaid.

The committee examined the entire relevant record including treatment notes of the 35-year-old female patient, her medico-legal examination report and the police docket before giving final touch to the report.

During inquiry, the committee also recorded statements of 21 employees of the hospital including female medics, paramedical staff, nurses and admin officials. The committee declared that after scrutiny of the recorded statements of the employees concerned, the documents and other hospital record, no evidence of sexual assault on the female patient was found.

“There is nothing to support the incidence of alleged abuse of patient during her admission in Services Hospital, Lahore,” reads the report.

It concluded that there is nothing on record to point out any delinquency of medical and paramedical staff. The woman had lodged a case with Shadman police station claiming that she had been raped by the unidentified employees of the hospital during treatment at the health facility.

Dawn