Pakistani patient dies after security guard performs surgery while posing as doctor

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

“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 Lahore’s Mayo Hospital, who did not want to be named.

He said it was unclear what type of surgery the impostor 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.