The reaction of suspected drugs supplied to cardiac patients from Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) claimed lives of another three people including two women here on Saturday raising the death toll in Punjab to 108. Rashidaan Bibi (60), Sarwar Begum (70) and Rehmat (42) died in Lahore on Saturday.
The health department continued to deny the figures of death toll given by the Punjab Chief Minister. According to sources, the reports of the samples sent to CDL and NIH laboratories have been received by the government. There are some unconfirmed reports that the PIC had distributed one of the five suspected medicines to its cardiac patients without getting it analysed from the Drug Testing Laboratory.
The sources claimed that Chief Minister's Inspection Team (CMIT) conducted investigations from all angles including storage and preservation system. The CMIT had also submitted its initial report to the government. Sources in health department claimed that all out efforts are being made for overcoming the situation created due to reaction by the medicines of PIC.
Moreover, the process of distribution of Rs 500,000 among the heirs of the patients died is being started within a couple of days and a committee has been constituted in this regard. An amount of Rs 30,000 is being provided to each patient and so far an amount of Rs 8.8 million has been distributed among 296 patients. In Punjab Institute of Cardiology, 12 counters are working for the provision of medicines to the patients. Around 230 patients are still admitted in various hospitals of Lahore. The large-scale causalities have sparked severe reaction from the families of the deceased who are demanding exemplary punishment to those responsible for the provision of fake or substandard drugs from the PIC pharmacy.