RAWALPINDI: The three government run hospitals in the garrison city are short of beds in their dengue wards after an increase in the number of dengue cases.

“After an increased number of dengue patients in the city, the hospitals had to make arrangements for more beds in their dengue wards,” a senior official of the Rawalpindi Medical College (RMC) told Dawn.

He said the hospitals arranged for more beds for dengue patients in the eye and surgery wards and requested patients waiting for minor procedures to wait a month or go to private clinics.

The hospitals have arranged for additional beds in the eye and surgery wards

The RMC official said this had created problems for patients, most of whom were poor.

“We did not have another option and had to ask them to wait for their minor procedures. The government should establish a separate hospital for infectious diseases, which will deal with dengue, measles and other cases,” he said.

According to data compiled by the RMC for the provincial government, 934 dengue patients have arrived at the three government run hospitals from March this year to October 11.

At present, 140 dengue patients are being treated at the Holy Family Hospital, 120 at the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) and 80 at the District Headquarters Hospital though hospital administrations say half of these patients are from Islamabad

“During the last month, 502 dengue patients came in to the three government run hospitals including 234 from the 46 union councils (UC) of Rawal Town, 90 from the 12 UCs of Potohar Town, 42 from Chaklala Cantonment and 110 from Rawalpindi Cantonment,” a senior official of the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR) said, adding that the number of dengue patients coming in from Islamabad were more than those from Rawalpindi.

He said that 27 sanitary patrols were working for dengue surveillance in Islamabad and that 1.600 were working in Rawalpindi for the last year.

“Therefore, the number of dengue patients in Rawalpindi should be less than those from Islamabad but the matter has also proved that Rawalpindi’s health department is not performing its duties properly,” he said.

When asked, BBH Medical Superintendent Dr Asif Qadir Mir said that more dengue patients come in from Islamabad that those reported in Rawalpindi and that BBH had arranged for 175 beds in the dengue ward.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2016