Photo : TDM
A man has become blind as the doctor mistakenly operated on the right eye instead of the left eye at Al-Noor Eye Hospital in Lalmatia, the capital.
The victim, Obaidul Haque, alleged that he did not get any remedy even after filing a complaint with the police station.
Victim of the wrong operation. Obaidul Haque's son Shaheen told The Daily Messenger that on September 3 (Saturday), "My father was admitted to Al-Noor Eye Hospital for surgery on his left eye. Then they told us that the hospital's medical director, Dr. Abu Saeed, would operate on my father's eyes. When he operated on his father's eye, he operated on the right eye instead of the left eye."
During the operation, my father got angry with the doctor and said, "I have come for the operation of the left eye. Why are you doing surgery on my right eye? Later, my father told us about it. At this time, we talked to the doctor, and there was a brawl over the matter. At one point in our heated conversation, the doctor told us, I did the operation as written by the nurses."
He said that when other relatives came to know about the matter, they talked to Abu Saeed. At one point, the doctor said, "I cut the eyes slightly and cleaned the dirt from the eyes."
Even when no one was convinced, Dr. Abu Saeed apologised and admitted to the wrong treatment. But by that time, the patient's right eye was already damaged.
In this incident, the victim’s son lodged a written complaint with the Mohammadpur Police Station on September 6. The police then contacted the hospital.
The police said, "We will contact you over the phone. If we call, come to the police station. We are keeping the complaint. It's been so long. But still, no one from the police station has contacted us. Meanwhile, my father's eyes are now more swollen and in severe pain."
Obaidul Haque said, "I was supposed to be operated on in my left eye, but my right eye was operated on first. When I told the doctor after realising it, he operated on the left eye. Now I can't see with both eyes."
Meanwhile, it was known from Al Noor Hospital's records that on September 3, Obaidul Haque, a resident of Lalbagh, underwent surgery as per the operation DCR, and necessary tests for the operation of his left eye were carried out. Only the left eye operation is mentioned in the DCR. This operation was done by the senior consultant of the hospital and the hospital director, Dr. Mohammad Abu Saeed.
Regarding these complaints, Dr. Abu Saeed Al-Noor admitted to TDM that police are working on the issue of compensation for Obaidul Haque, but they have not reached any agreement yet. If they agree, the hospital authorities will pay compensation.
In response to the question of why he operated on the right eye even though there was a written decision regarding the operation of the left eye, he said that a small operation was done on the right eye. In this regard, a decision was taken by verbally discussing it with the patient's relatives.
"Can this decision be taken verbally? And as a result, Obaidul Haque is not seeing with his eyes. Dr. Abu Saeed said, "There was a small operation on the right eye. There are cataracts in the eyes, so maybe he cannot see for this reason. I told the patient to come after 15 days."
In this regard, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tejgaon Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) HM Azimul Haque said, I am not aware of the matter. I am looking into this.
In this regard, Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Tejgaon Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) HM Azimul Haque said, "I am not aware of the matter. I am looking into this."
Apart from Obaidul Haque, Jamal Hossain, a fish seller in Rayer Bazar, became blind due to the wrong treatment. He said, "In August 2019, I went to Al-Noor Hospital to see a doctor due to some blurred vision in my left eye. Later, they asked me to do retinal surgery. My right eye was fine then. I could only see a little blur in my left eye. As the doctor said, I went to the hospital for retinal surgery in the same month. Shafiqur Rahman operated on me. A few days after the operation, when I removed the eye bandage, I saw that my left eye was more damaged than before."
"I used to see a little blurry, but now I can't see at all in my left eye. After ten to twelve days, I slowly lost sight in both eyes. Now I am completely blind, with a loss of vision in both eyes. I complained about this to the police but did not get any remedy."
"I was a poor man selling fish for a living. Now my sons and daughters have stopped schooling due to blindness. My wife works as a cleaner in a medical facility and somehow runs my family. Due to their wrong operation, now my family has been ruined.
Regarding the treatment of Jamal Hossain, Dr. Shafiqur Rahman told The Daily Messenger on Tuesday night, "I do not do the retina operation, but the operation is done by someone else."
Jamal was going back and forth properly. But during COVID in 2020, he did not come to the hospital for 3 months, and during that period, I was infected with the virus. When the patient came to me, his cornea was white. I asked him, Why did this happen? He said there was a wound in the eye. The fact is, he is a villager. When I was not in the hospital, Jamal came to the hospital to find me, but he left without finding me. The mistake happened here.
According to local sources, the number of poor and helpless patients at Al-Noor Eye Hospital is high. Patients are being mistreated when it comes to general eye surgery. Many opened their mouths after becoming blind and did not get any remedy. Allegedly, the hospital's relief fund was used to pay monetary compensation to the victims only to keep their mouths shut.
As the RAB-2 camp is in front of the hospital and the police station is next to it, the concerned people show all kinds of fear and intimidation towards the patients. As a result, many victims do not open their mouths out of fear. Many of the victims complained to the police but did not get any help. The victims also alleged that police advised them to negotiate with the hospital.
TDM/SD
