Patients protest at Expo Centre field hospital Lahore

LAHORE: Coronavirus patients at the Expo Field Hospital in Lahore came out in protest, complaining against the hospital’s management.

They were of the view that the centre admin had unnecessarily kept them despite the fact that the reports had tested them negative.

The protestors including the Tableeghi Jamaat members said the management got their tests done from the private lab which tested them negative for the COVID-19 twice.

On this occasion, the protesters said “We have no disease. We have been deliberately caught from different parts of Islamabad and locked up in the Centre.”

They further said “When we asked for the COVID-19 test, we were told to take the test only from the Chughtai laboratory which is receiving Rs 8,000 per test”.

They also alleged that administration is forcing them to take the test only from Chughtai laboratory. “After taking the test from this lab we are allowed to go home immediately from the quarantine center,” they added.

They claimed that the services being provided at the hospital were inadequate and not up to basic health standards. The patients have demanded that the government let them go home.

Sources further disclosed that some people also lodged a protest as many of them were from poor families and only breadwinners for their children.

They wanted to rejoin their families to manage food to run family matters, sources added.

In different footages on social media websites, some patients were seen damaging the window panes and door of the health facility in anger.

As they came out of the building, the police deployed there tried to stop them while maintaining maximum distance from them.

Meanwhile, chief executive of the Mayo Hospital Prof Dr Asad Aslam and MS Tahir Khalil also reached at the scene and held negotiations with the protesters.

He said some of them created an issue to get permission to go back to their homes before completion of the quarantine period. The CE of the Mayo Hospital was also supervising the management of the Expo Centre Field Hospital.

Taking notice of patients’ protest Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar sought a detailed inquiry report from the provincial health minister and health secretary and ordered a probe into the incident.

The Chief Minister also directed the authorities concerned to provide best facilities to COVID-19 infected patients on priority basis.