Elderly woman dies after security guard performs surgery at Lahore's Mayo Hospital

Published June 7, 2021
Shameema Begum, aged 80, died on Sunday, two weeks after Muhammad Waheed Butt attempted to treat her back wound at the public hospital. Shutterstock
Shameema Begum, aged 80, died on Sunday, two weeks after Muhammad Waheed Butt attempted to treat her back wound at the public hospital. Shutterstock

A woman died after a former security guard at Lahore's Mayo Hospital posed as a doctor and performed surgery on her, police said on Monday.

Shameema Begum, aged 80, died on Sunday, two weeks after Muhammad Waheed Butt attempted to treat her back wound at the public hospital.

“We can't keep up with what every doctor and what everyone is doing at all times. It's a large hospital,” explained an administrative official from the hospital, who did not want to be named.

He said it was unclear what type of surgery the imposter had performed in the operating theatre, where a qualified technician was also present.

Pakistan's public hospitals, where patients are required to pay some money towards treatment, can often be inefficient and chaotic.

Begum's family paid Butt for the operation, and two further home visits to dress her wound.

But when the bleeding and pain worsened, her family returned her to the hospital, where they discovered what had happened.

Her body is being kept for an autopsy to ascertain whether her death was a result of complications from the botched surgery.

“The guard has been charged and is in police custody,” Lahore police spokesman Ali Safdar told AFP.

“Butt had posed as a doctor and made home visits to other patients in the past also.”

Mayo Hospital staff said Butt was fired two years ago for trying to extort money from patients.

Earlier in May, a man was arrested for posing as a doctor at Lahore General Hospital and extorting money from patients in the surgical ward.

In 2016, it was revealed that a woman posing to be a neurosurgeon conducted operations for eight months alongside qualified doctors at Lahore's Services Hospital, the second-largest health facility in Pakistan.

Opinion

Editorial

Taliban divisions
Updated 24 Feb, 2025

Taliban divisions

The only workable solution lies in Mullah Akhundzada loosening his iron grip on the country.
Oblivious to drought
24 Feb, 2025

Oblivious to drought

PAKISTAN faces two types of drought: one caused by dry weather or lower-than-normal rainfall, and the other ...
Digital children
24 Feb, 2025

Digital children

AS most parents with young children will agree, the easiest way to pacify a bawling child is to hand them a...
The long wait
Updated 23 Feb, 2025

The long wait

Pakistan’s fundamental problem is that two of its most important leaders still cannot get over themselves.
Defending freedom
23 Feb, 2025

Defending freedom

THERE was no other choice. Despite assurances of consultations with key stakeholders, the government passed the Peca...
Anti-Muslim crimes
23 Feb, 2025

Anti-Muslim crimes

THE surge in Islamophobic assaults in the UK, as reported by the anti-hate crime charity Tell MAMA, is a stark...