May 02, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 25, 1429

NAWABSHAH, May 1: With the onset of summer and rise in mercury gastroenteritis has again struck the areas, which lack access to clean drinking water, with more than 100 patients reporting at the Nawabshah Medical College Hospital (NMCH) and other health centres during last 24 hours.

On an average, 40-50 gastroenteritis patients report daily at the NMCH for a couple of days. A gastroenteritis patient complains of vomiting and diarrhoea or cramps.

A doctor at the hospital’s paediatrics ward, who appeared baffled by the huge number of patients, said that all the patients in the ward were gastroenteritis patients and he was attending to at least 25-30 patients daily.

The paediatrics and emergency wards face acute shortage of beds and more than one and two patients (children) were seen lying on a single bed. The ward was stinking and giving a look of garbage dump with used syringes and other waste material littering the floor.

Prof Dr Gulshan Ali Memon, medical superintendent of NMCH, said that he was well aware of the shortage of beds and to solve the problem a separate Child Health Institute had been proposed to be built in place of his official residence and the residence of the EDO of health.

He said that the hospital also faced shortage of doctors with only 112 doctors working there. The number of postgraduate students, who also attended the wards, was 132 but they were not under his administrative control and he could not take action against them if they were absent, he said.

At least 10-15 gastroenteritis patients were admitted to the hospital’s medical units. Assistant Prof Dr Mohammad Saleem Faiz said that the medicine OPD was receiving 15-20 gastroenteritis patients daily but most of them were discharged after first aid.