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| October 13, 2005 | Thursday | Ramzan 8, 1426 |
Temporary medical, residential centres to be set up
ISLAMABAD, Oct 12: The government is planning to establish temporary medical care and residential centres at Pakistan Sports Complex and community centres in the twin cities for Saturday’s earthquake survivors, sources told Dawn.
The programme will be finalized as soon as possible and people with minor injuries, admitted to various hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, will be shifted to these centres.
The government is planning to set up the centres as the hospitals in the twin cities — Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), Federal Government Services Hospital (FGSH), Capital Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital, Rawalpindi General Hospital and Holy Family Hospital — are already overcrowded with earthquake victims.
Health Secretary Anwar Mehmood told Dawn that the main purpose of setting up these centres was to provide shelters to those people whose houses had collapsed in the earthquake and those who did not want to return to their areas.
These will be temporary shelters and the survivors will use it for a limited period. After making proper residential arrangements they will be shifted there, he added.
Treatment will be provided in the centres to those who have been discharged from the hospitals, but still need medical assistance, he added.
These steps will be taken to provide treatment to maximum survivors from Azad Kashmir and the NWFP.
The administrations of all hospitals have been asked to prepare themselves to receive earthquake survivors for another week as rescue work had started in the affected areas.
About 2,000 injured from different areas of Azad Kashmir and NWFP have already been shifted to three different hospitals of Islamabad — Pims, FGSH and Capital Hospital.
More injured are being brought from the affected areas by air and road. The US army’s Chinooks along with Pakistan army helicopters are also shifting the injured to Islamabad.
Meanwhile, 45 bodies — 39 retrieved from Margalla Towers and six from Azad Kashmir and the NWFP — and 1,300 injured have been shifted to Pims.
During the last five days, 350 major surgeries have been performed on the injured to save their lives.
Likewise, 420 injured children have been shifted to the Children’s Hospital, Pims.
A body and 551 injured were shifted to the FGSH. About 169 major operations were performed in the hospital.
Similarly, 167 injured, including 88 women and 16 children, were shifted to the Capital Hospital.
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