Akram apologises to doctors

Akram's wife Huma, 42, died of multiple organ failure in a hospital in Chennai in October last year.She was being taken by an air ambulance to Singapore when her condition worsened and the aircraft had to land in Chennai.

The cricketer had then alleged that about 10 doctors of private and public hospitals in Lahore, including those of cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan's Shaukat Khanum Hospital, were responsible for her death as they did not treat her properly.
"Soon after the death of my wife, I was overwhelmed by her loss. My late wife was not just a spouse but also my professional adviser and friend.

I had to take her by air ambulance for treatment and then later to return with her body in a charter plane from Delhi," Akram said in a statement released to the media.
"Due to these traumatic circumstances, I now recognize that I may have said things (in private and in public forums) which led listeners to understand otherwise than what is stated herein.

To the extent that my previous statements may have been misleading, I would like to apologise and to correct the record in terms of this statement," he said.
"I would also like to apologise for having referred to the hospitals involved as 'slaughterhouses'.

I should not have said this.I hold the medical community in high esteem.
Hospitals provide much needed medical care to patients and medical staff in the vast majority of cases works hard to treat patients to the best of their ability," he added.
Akram said he had presented "certain concerns" to an inquiry committee set up by the government to examine his wife’s death.

"I am not a doctor and therefore not competent to comment on medical or professional negligence.I based my views on the report prepared by the inquiry committee constituted by the government," he said.

"However, I understand that the doctors involved in this case have expresses serious reservations regarding the investigation by this inquiry committee.
They feel they were not given a proper opportunity to present their case and have also raised various other objections regarding the inquiry report," he added.
Akram said he had "no personal grudge or animosity towards any of the doctors involved in the treatment of my late wife.

My focus has been to try and contribute towards improvement of systems to the extent possible, so that there should be appropriate regulation of all hospitals and medical practitioners to protect the interests of citizens of Pakistan as well as due protection to medical practitioners."