KP doctor loses battle to COVID-19

PESHAWAR: As coronavirus cases continued to register an increase in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Prof Dr Mohammad Javed of the ENT department at the Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) became the first member of the medical community in the province to lose his life.

Chief Minister Mahmood Khan, along with senior government officials, immediately went to the HMC to offer prayers for the departed soul and boost morale of the health workers. He paid glowing tribute to members of the medical community and other health workers for their services to humanity, particularly during the present coronavirus pandemic.

In recognition of his services to the humanity, the chief minister recommended late Prof Javed for the highest civil award of the country.

Also, Kamran Bangash, Advisor to Chief Minister on Local Government, and Member National Assembly from Kurram tribal district, Munir Khan Orakzai tested positive for coronavirus. They were reported to be in stable condition.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reported 167 confirmed cases of coronavirus on Friday, the highest number of positive cases recorded in a single day after the Covid-19 outbreak.

According to Prof Shehzad Akbar Khan, Medical Director HMC, Prof Javed had developed symptoms almost two weeks ago and was immediately put on ventilator.

He remained on ventilator for two weeks but was officially declared dead Saturday morning.

”He was one of the frontline warriors against the global corona pandemic and was leading the Corona Combat Team at the time of his illness. Incidentally, HMC has led the fight against corona at the provincial level catering to maximum number of patients and also serving as a centre for diagnostic testing and being part of the convalescent plasma programme in coordination with the National Institute of Blood Diseases in Karachi,” explained Dr Shehzad Akbar.

He said Prof Javed fell critically ill on April 10, 2020 while on duty and had to be shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where he was put on ventilator.

“His colleagues tried their best to save his life. His death has left a void which will be almost impossible to fill as the institution lost a very competent clinician and a humble person who was always willing to serve the humanity as an integral part of the profession that he represented,” said the visibly shaken Prof Shehzad Akbar.

He said that Prof Javed’s friends and family were devastated by his tragic death and they were struggling to find solace in the wake of this irreparable loss.

Prof Javed was born on September 15, 1967 in Abazai village in Charsadda district. He did his MBBS from Khyber Medical College (KMC) Peshawar in 1991.

He specialised in the field of otolaryngology (ENT) by getting his FCPS degree from College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan (CPSP) in 1998. Later, he did his FRCS from the Royal College of Surgeons England in 2003.

Prof Javed had initially started his teaching career in Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar which he joined as Senior Registrar in May 2005.

In January 2006, he was posted as Assistant Professor in the department of ENT Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar.

He had more than 16 publications to his credit and represented the institution in a number of national and international conferences and workshops.

He is survived by his wife, daughter aged 14 and two sons aged 10 and 7, besides his parents and five brothers and sisters.

His funeral prayer was offered in the hospital premises and attended by his family and colleagues.

Prof Javed was buried in his ancestral graveyard in Abazai.

Paying tributes to Prof Javed, Medical Director HMC Prof Shehzad Akbar described him as a true professional, thorough gentleman, trusted friend and a dedicated family person whose absence will always be felt.

He appealed to the government to acknowledge his services by awarding him the highest civil award and ensuring that his family is well catered for, financially and otherwise.

Meanwhile, Chief Minster Mahmood Khan along with Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz and Secretary Health Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah visited HMC to offer condolences to the colleagues of Prof Javed. He assured all out help in looking after the healthcare staff in general and the family of the deceased in particular.

“We salute our health workers for the services they rendering to the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the current corona pandemic. We would never forget services of Prof Javed to the humanity during crisis,” said the chief minister.

The health workers were already passing through a difficult situation, but the loss of Prof Javed sent a wave of concern among them as many are serving without adequate personal protection equipment (PPE).

According to the HMC administration, four doctors, four nurses and a non-technical health worker class-IV had tested positive for coronavirus since the start of their services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Two doctors and the class-IV employee had recovered and had now tested negative.

In the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), three gynaecologists tested positive for the coronavirus on Saturday.

According to sources, the hospital administration was planning to shut the Gynae C unit after the three female doctors serving there were diagnosed with Covid-19.

Besides, three trainee medical officers (TMOs) of cardiology department in LRH were also isolated after their swabs were sent for investigations to the laboratory in Khyber Medical University (KMU).

In LRH, TMOs in cardiology department were upset with the hospital administration for exposing them to the coronavirus patients. They complained that in other hospitals, particularly in KTH and HMC, the staff of department of medicine and pulmonology was handling Covid-19 patients.

“In LRH, the hospital administration has dozens of TMOs in medicine and pulmonology departments, but they unnecessarily involved TMOs of cardiology department in the treatment of Covid-19. This is injustice with us and some of the trainees preferred to leave their training in the cardiology department,” said one of the TMOs at the department.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Pakistan People’s Party Bilawal Bhutto Zardari expressed deep grief and sorrow over the sad demise of Dr Mohammad Javed, who laid down his life fighting the coronavirus.While combating COVID-19, Dr Mohammad Javed himself got infected and had been on ventilator for a week before his death.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that it was the duty of the both federal and provincial governments to provide protective gears to the frontline warriors against COVID-19 in hospitals so that the doctors and paramedics serve the ailing people in a secure way. PPP chairman expressed solidarity with the family of the late Dr Mohammad Javed and condoled with them on the loss. He saluted the doctors and their staff battling round the clock to treat their fellow citizens fallen victim to the deadly virus.