Pakistan: Type of facility a victim of crime would use for medical treatment; medical documentation for victims of crime; procedures for treating victims of crime at private hospitals; the circumstances under which a private hospital would be required to transfer an injured patient to a public hospital (where a medico-legal team could perform an investigation)
Type of facility a victim of crime would use for medical treatment
In correspondence with the Research Directorate, the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, the regulatory authority for medical education in Pakistan (Pakistan Medical and Dental Council n.d.) stated that victims of crime can go to any public or private hospital to receive medical treatment (11 Oct. 2006). The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), a private hospital in Karachi, indicates in an undated document on its Web site that medical care is available to anyone in need and that assistance is available to those unable to pay (n.d.).
Medical documentation
According to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, both a medical report and a medico-legal report are completed for victims of crime who receive medical treatment in Pakistan (11 Oct. 2006). The medical report includes medical information such as blood pressure and pulse while the medico-legal report contains information on the status of the injuries sustained by the patient including, for example, the "site, nature and level of grievance to [the patient's] health/life" (11 Oct. 2006).
Treating victims of crime at private hospitals
According to Notification of Balochistan - Private Hospital Rules, published by the government of Balochistan's Health Department, all private hospitals are required to give first aid to medico-legal cases and then transfer such cases to a public sector hospital where a medico-legal team will perform an examination; however, if the patient is in a life-threatening situation, the private hospital is permitted to admit the patient under its care (Balochistan 26 Sept. 2005, Part IV). Following the admission of a patient under such life-threatening circumstances, private hospitals are asked to contact the local police at which time a medico-legal officer from the public hospital will be dispatched to examine the patient (ibid.).
No information could be found regarding private hospital regulations in provinces other than Balochistan among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, in 2004, the government of Pakistan passed Act XII, The Injured Persons (Medical Aid) Act which stipulates that injured persons must receive medical attention before police and medico-legal teams carry out their investigations (HRCP Feb. 2006, 16; OINN n.d.). A copy of the Act could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
A Pakistani criminal lawyer provided the following related information in correspondence to the Research Directorate on 19 October 2006:
Any person with suspicious injuries is required to have a medico-legal examination at a public hospital. Only a medico-legal report prepared by a medico-legal officer, so designated in public hospitals, is admissible as evidence in a court.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH). N.d. "About Us: Hospital Introduction." <http://www.aku.edu/akuh/aboutus/intro/intro.shtml> [Accessed 29 Sept. 2006]
Criminal lawyer, Karachi. 19 October 2006. Correspondence.
Human Rights Commision of Pakistan (HRCP). February 2006. "Laws and Law-making." State of Human Rights in 2005. <http://www.hrcp-web.org/images/publication/annual_report/pdf_2005/1-1.pdf> [Accessed 24 Oct. 2006]
Online International News Network (OINN) [Islamabad]. N.d. "Opposition Boycotts Passage of ISI's Recruitment Bill in Senate." <http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?id=69135> [Accessed 16 Oct. 2006]
Pakistan. 26 September 2005. Government of Balochistan, Health Department. Notification of Balochistan Private Hospital Rules. <http://www.balochistan.gov.pk/New%20Folder/BDSSP/BDSSP-Data/Health/ Private%20hospital%20Rules.pdf> [Accessed 9 Oct. 2006]
Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, Islamabad. 11 October 2006. Correspondence from the Secretary.
_____. 2001. "What It Is." <http://www.pmdc.org.pk/what_it_is.htm> [Accessed 25 Oct. 2006]
Additional Sources Consulted
Oral sources: The College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, a member of the Human Rights Commission Pakistan, Ittefaq Hospital, Masood Hospital, Medico-Legal Update [New Delhi], the National Health Management and Information Services of the Ministry of Health of Pakistan, the National Hospital and Medical Center, the Executive Director and two Research Officers at the Pakistan Medical Research Council, the Seyal Medical Centre, the Chief Executive Officer of Shalamar Hospital, a Karachi lawyer and a Lahore lawyer, did not provide information within the time constraints of this response.
Attempts to contact the Shalimar Hospital and the Valley Clinic [Rawalpindi] were unsuccessful.
Internet sites, including: Aadil Hospital, the British Pakistan Law Council, the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, the 1973 Constitution of Pakistan, Daily Times [Lahore], Dawn [Karachi], Doctor Without Borders, GlobaLex, Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Government of the North West Frontier Province, Government of Punjab, Health Services Academy, Islamic Republic News Agency, Ittefaq Hospital, Journal of Pakistan Medical Association, Legislationline, Masood Hospital, Ministry of Health Pakistan, National Hospital and Medical Center, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Pakistan Medical Research Council, PakMediNet, PakTribune, Refworld, Shalamar Hospital, Sindh Governor House, TelMedPak, Urban Resource Centre, World Health Organization.