In Rawalpindi, relatives of a patient at the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology allegedly assaulted a staff nurse, tore her clothes and attempted to strip her. Following the incident, all staff nurses staged a protest by stopping work and demanded action against those responsible.
According to media reports, the hospital administration has formed an inquiry committee to investigate the incident, while police have registered a case against the patient’s daughters and other relatives.
According to initial reports, Zarmina Wazir Muhammad, along with her sister and brother, allegedly attacked nurse Sitara Saleem. After verbally abusing and threatening her, they reportedly dragged the nurse into a room, assaulted her, tore her clothes and attempted to remove them.
The hospital’s Executive Director formed an inquiry committee comprising Dr Misbah Durrani, Dr Abdul Malik and Dr Abdus Salam. The executive director also assured the nursing staff that their concerns would be addressed.
Meanwhile, Waris Khan police registered a case against the patient’s daughters and relatives allegedly involved in the incident. The case was registered on the complaint of staff nurse Sitara Saleem.
In her complaint, the nurse said she was attending to patients in the emergency department when the patient, Zameen Bibi, arrived with her three daughters. She said the women were asked to leave the emergency area but became angry and allegedly misbehaved with her before grabbing her.
According to Saleem, the patient’s daughters dragged her toward the male ward, where two men also arrived and allegedly joined in the assault. She said the women tore her clothes and attempted to remove them.
The nurse further alleged that despite pleading with them to stop, the women continued threatening her, claiming they were influential and would have her dismissed from her job. She requested legal action over the alleged assault and mistreatment.
Police said a case had been registered and raids were being conducted to arrest the suspects.
Following the incident, all staff nurses stopped working in protest and demanded protection for hospital employees. The nurses warned that they would not resume work unless adequate measures were taken to ensure their safety.
The protest left the emergency department and other wards without staff nurses, causing significant difficulties for patients.
The hospital administration assured the nurses of its full cooperation and appealed to them to end their protest. However, the nursing staff initially refused to call off the demonstration.
Later, Waris Khan, CSP Abid Khan and SHO Raja Tasaduq reached the scene and held talks with the protesters. They assured the nurses that their complaint would be formally submitted, a case would be registered, and the suspects would be arrested. Following the assurance, the protesters peacefully ended their demonstration.