November 07, 2008	Friday	Ziqa'ad 8, 1429

KARACHI, Nov 6: The Sindh health department has planned to purchase three cell separators from a special Rs20 million fund it has been given under the directives of the chief minister for different dengue fever relief initiatives across the province.

The provincial health minister, Dr Sagheer Ahmad, told Dawn on Thursday that the amount was now available with his department as a special grant to control the outbreak of the dengue fever.

According to the minister, measures are being taken for proper and timely use of the special fund and it is likely that nearly half of the amount will be spent on the procurement of three modern and standard cell separators for preparation of platelets — a blood component given to dengue patients.

The department will also buy empty mega unit bags used for the separation and collection of platelets and dengue diagnosis kits. He said that besides the fund would be used for holding seminars and workshops and running media campaigns for increasing awareness among the public and physicians and other health personnel regarding dengue diseases.

He said the three cell separators were likely to be installed at the teaching hospitals in Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur.

The Sindh health department was already maintaining one cell separator each in Karachi, Larkana and Nawabshah, he said, adding that the facilities were aimed at providing free of cost mega platelets unit to patients tested positive for dengue and admitted to government hospitals.

Giving an update about dengue fever patients admitted to various hospitals of Karachi, the minister said that on Thursday 13 new patients were brought in while another 12 patients were discharged during the last 24 hours ending at 11am.

The number of dengue suspects admitted to hospital remained 34 on Thursday. The entries of the patients were reported from Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Dr Ziauddin Hospital, Karachi Adventist Hospital and Institute of Blood Diseases.

In the meantime the City District Government Karachi has also asked the Sindh government to divert a significant portion of the Rs20 million special grant towards it as its hospitals are also handling a considerably large number of dengue patients.

The money sought from the government, according to sources in the government, will be used for procurement of some costly equipment required for a proposed centralised blood bank of the city government, where among other activities, safe blood component packs would be prepared and provided on subsidised rates to patients, including the patients tested positive for dengue.

House officers’ stipend

The health minister further told Dawn that the Sindh government had finally decided to raise the monthly stipend of hundreds of house officers working in the government teaching hospitals across the province from Rs6,200 to Rs12,000.

A notification to this effect would be issued shortly, he added.

He further said that the department was also developing a service structure for its paramedical staff.