{"id":71,"date":"2026-05-25T09:12:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T09:12:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/nine-doctors-suspended-after-hiv-positive-patient-operated-without-screening-at-multans-nishtar-hospital\/"},"modified":"2026-05-25T09:12:04","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T09:12:04","slug":"nine-doctors-suspended-after-hiv-positive-patient-operated-without-screening-at-multans-nishtar-hospital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/nine-doctors-suspended-after-hiv-positive-patient-operated-without-screening-at-multans-nishtar-hospital\/","title":{"rendered":"Nine Doctors Suspended After HIV-Positive Patient Operated Without Screening at Multan’s Nishtar Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A major medical negligence scandal has rocked one of Pakistan’s largest public hospitals after nine doctors and a nurse were suspended for operating on an HIV-positive patient without conducting mandatory pre-surgery screening tests.<\/p>\n

The incident at Nishtar Hospital in Multan has sent shockwaves through Pakistan’s healthcare community and raised urgent questions about patient safety protocols at government medical facilities across Punjab.<\/p>\n

According to official suspension orders issued Saturday, the medical team proceeded with surgery on a patient three days earlier without obtaining HIV test results, despite standard protocols requiring such screening before any invasive procedure. The patient’s positive HIV status was only confirmed after the operation had been completed.<\/p>\n

Among those suspended are MS General Surgery Dr Irsa Arif, Chemical Pathologist Dr Sania Saeed, Orthopedic Surgeon Dr Muhammad Naeem Akhtar, Senior Registrar Dr Fariha Ahmed, Medical Officers Dr Shahbaz Anwar and Dr Muhammad Ali Jan, along with Charge Nurse Rida Zahra. The suspensions came following recommendations from an official inquiry committee.<\/p>\n

The hospital administration immediately sealed the operation theatre where the procedure took place and has imposed travel restrictions on the suspended medical personnel, who cannot leave the city without prior authorization.<\/p>\n

The breach has created a potential health crisis within the hospital itself. More than ten doctors and paramedical staff members who were present in the operation theatre during the surgery have now undergone HIV testing as a precautionary measure, according to hospital officials.<\/p>\n

Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir responded strongly to the incident, declaring that negligence in patient treatment would not be tolerated. He warned that strict disciplinary action would be taken against anyone found responsible for the protocol violations.<\/p>\n

The case highlights persistent concerns about adherence to safety standards in Pakistan’s overburdened public healthcare system, where resource constraints and staff shortages often lead to corners being cut. HIV screening before surgery is a fundamental safety protocol designed to protect both patients and medical staff from potential transmission risks.<\/p>\n

Nishtar Hospital, one of the largest teaching hospitals in southern Punjab, serves millions of patients from across the region. The incident has raised questions about whether similar lapses may be occurring at other facilities.<\/p>\n

Health experts emphasize that while the risk of HIV transmission during surgery exists, proper protocols and post-exposure prophylaxis can significantly reduce dangers to medical staff. However, the failure to conduct pre-operative screening represents a serious breakdown in basic medical procedures.<\/p>\n

The inquiry committee’s findings and any additional disciplinary measures are expected in the coming days as authorities work to restore public confidence in the hospital’s operations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A major medical negligence scandal has rocked one of Pakistan’s largest public hospitals after nine doctors and a nurse were suspended for operating on an HIV-positive patient without conducting mandatory pre-surgery screening tests. The incident<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":70,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[3,9,4],"class_list":["post-71","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pakistan","tag-ai-consensus","tag-geo-news","tag-journalist-ai"],"featured_image_url":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/nine-doctors-suspended-after-hiv-positive-patient-operated-without-screening-at-multan-s-nishtar-hospital.png","read_time":"3 min read","source_name":"Goodforfree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/70"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goodforfree.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}