The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) convened a preliminary hearing to review the tragic case of a medical student’s suicide, reportedly linked to harassment.
Three preliminary hearings were convened on Monday to ensure a fair and informed assessment of the matters at hand before any formal disciplinary proceedings were initiated. Relevant stakeholders, including representatives of the concerned institution, were called to present their accounts so that the factual matrix could be clearly established. President of PMDC carefully reviewed the initial findings and sought clarifications from the concerned representatives to verify key facts and to assess the sufficiency of evidence. The process was undertaken to determine whether the cases were ready for referral to the Disciplinary Committee for further adjudication.
Dr. Rizwan Taj, along with Registrar, Dr Rehan Naqvi emphasized a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and any negligence in medical and dental institutions.
The first hearing was of the doctors with “OT video leak scandal”. All five doctors, including Dr Tayaba Fatima, Dr Zainab Tahir, Dr Muhammad Essa, Dr Ayesha Afzal and Dr Maham Amin attended the hearing. The incident involved the circulation of an inappropriate video on social media by the PG trainees of Lady Wellington Hospital, Lahore, showing a race amongst doctors performing surgeries on two tables and making callous comments.
Second hearing was on the sad incident of suicide by a final year MBBS student Ms. Fareeha at Fatima Jinnah Medical College, Lahore. The principal of the college appeared and explained the facts.
The third hearing was on the sad incident of suicide by Ms. Fehmida Leghari 3rd year MBBS of student of Muhammad Medical College, Mirpurkhas. The principal of the college appeared and explained the facts.
