LAHORE: Poor patients are paying a heavy cost for the unwarranted delay in the release of funds for the completion of many important health schemes launched in 2007 under a master plan at Services Hospital, Lahore.

The healthcare situation at the mega teaching hospital is getting from bad to worse as many clinical units at the state-run institute have reached on the verge of closure.

Located in the heart of the provincial capital (on Jail Road), the mega teaching hospital is surrounded by several expensive and multi-storey private hospitals and clinics.

The business of private hospitals is flourishing as a large number of patients are being denied treatment at the Services Hospital due to inadequate health facilities including, equipment, diagnostic services and space.

Some documents of the health department itself speak volume for the poor state of health affairs at this tertiary care hospital which is also the only officially-designated infirmary for Punjab government servants and their families and members of provincial assemblies.

A revised PC-I (upgradation of radiology/specialties departments in Services Hospital) was sent recently to the P&D Department with a request that any more delay in releasing funds may further aggravate healthcare situation at the teaching hospital.

Ever-increasing patients, delay in funds aggravating situation

The PC-I documents say the delay has also caused a huge financial burden on the exchequer.

A nine-storey building at the Services Hospital was approved at a cost Rs647.268 million. Since the building components were not completed timely, the revised rough estimate has now reached Rs1000.9 million to cover the cost.

“After the price escalation and devaluation of the Pak currency it is not possible to purchase equipment at the five-year old approved cost,” the PC-I clearly stated.

Several important schemes were proposed in the Services Hospital’s master plan which was approved by the health and P&D Department on May 8, 2007, in order to provide diagnostic services and treatment to patients in other departments. The plan was to be implemented in phases.

The PC-I for upgradation of radiology/specialties departments was also made part of the phase-I of the plan in 2008.

A nine-storey building, including two basements, was proposed in this particular scheme which was later approved vide administrative approval letter No. SO (Dev)3-10/2008, dated: 30-04-2009 for Rs 647.268 million by the health department.

To sensitize the authorities about the plight of patients, the officials in the PC-I painted a gloomy picture of the sorry state of health affairs.

They said that patients had been increasing since the project was launched but nothing was done to expand healthcare facilities. Consequently, the situation is getting out of control with every passing day.

There is no purpose-built radiology department to cater to the need of 30 clinical and a large number of OPD patients, the documents say. It is being run at three different sites.

“The radiology department is working at different improvised places making a little space for patients,” they say. There is no space for medical students to be taught in consultant rooms. The hospital has an inadequate patient waiting area. The number of patients visiting OPD daily in 2008 was 1,500 which has crossed the 3,000 mark.

“At present a huge gap exists between the population size and the medical services available to them at the hospital,” the revised PC-I said. The long waiting list for surgical patients has doubled their miseries.

The CT scanner is housed in a building meant for stores and a structural survey carried out by the C&W department on July 7, 2006, declared the building to be in a very poor condition.

This is a single storey building on four kanal area. There is only one CT scanner which is 15-year old, two conventional X-ray machines and three ultrasound machines which are quite insufficient to meet the need of hospital.

Some surgical specialties like thoracic surgery are being run on makeshift arrangements. The only sanctioned teaching neurosurgery unit and two sanctioned teaching units of ENT (one newly-created) have inadequate space.

The other sanctioned teaching units are available to teaching doctors but there is no dedicated space for them, forcing them to work at makeshift arrangements.

Highlighting the significance of the project, the PC-I say the proposed project has the capacity to take the load of patients for next 25 years, especially in the radiology department.

It will contribute to create 308 employments, 220 inpatient beds, augmentation of curative side of government’s health programme.

The proposed radiology department will be unique and will provide state-of-the-art diagnostic facilities. This will include not only diagnostic but also interventional therapeutic facilities including digital X-ray, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, CT scan, MRI, MRA, blood flow studies, contrast studies and mammography.

It will perform about 110,000 X-rays annually, 36,000 ultrasounds, 10,000 CT scans, 10,000 MRI tests and blood flow and contrast studies.

The dermatology department will consist of 26 beds, pulmonology (30 beds), thoracic surgery (30 beds), infectious diseases (26 beds), neurology (24 beds), neurosurgery (30 beds), ENT unit-I (24 beds), and ENT unit-I (24 beds), besides a state-of-the-art operation theatre complex (seven operating rooms) for these surgical units.

One half of the floor is dedicated to the information technology department.

Experts in the PC-I has stressed upon the government to proceed on an emergent basis.

They say at present the Services Hospital is 1196-bed teaching institute and the ever-increasing load of patients may lead to the closure of many departments due to inadequate facilities and funds.

Published in Dawn February 7th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play