LAHORE: The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has, while expanding its inspections across the province, stopped surgeries in 24 operating theatres of eight hospitals.

Show-cause notices were also issued to 36 healthcare establishments of five districts for failing to implement the Minimum Service Delivery Standards MSDS), said a spokesperson here on Thursday.

Six operating theatres of the Gujranwala DHQ Hospital, four each of the Nishter Hospital (Multan) and the Allied Hospital besides three of the Faisal Hospital (Faisalabad), two each of Ihsan Mumtaz Hospital, Rasheed Hospital and Orthopaedic Medical Complex (Lahore) and one of the Khawaja Hospital Kahna were suspended for surgeries.

The PHC served show-cause notices on Akram Medical Complex, Hussain Memorial Hospital and Layton Rehmatullah Benevolent Trust Eye Hospital (Multan Road) in Lahore, DHQ Teaching Hospital, Government TB Hospital Mubarak Medical Complex, Rai Medical Complex and Sadiq Hospital in Sargodha, Holy Family Hospital, Wapda Hospital and Saint Joseph Hospital in Rawalpindi, DHQ Hospital, Government General Hospital, District Anti-TB Hospital and Surraya Majeed Hospital in Faisalabad, Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi Institute of Cardiology, Children’s Hospital and Civil Hospital in Multan, Jinnah Memorial Hospital, Chattha Hospital, Haji Murad Trust Eye Hospital, Rafique Anwar Trust Hospital, Cheema Heart Complex and General Hospital, Allama Iqbal Memorial Trust Hospital and Wapda Hospital in Gujranwala.

The spokesperson said the hospitals’ administrations were directed to suspend surgeries since the theatres were not fit for carrying out operations. Moreover, notices were also served on 14 hospitals for not taking requisite measures for the medical waste. The hospitals were also served notices and directed to submit written replies to the PHC.

Operating theatres of these hospitals would be made functional only after their respective administrations would submit laboratory reports to the PHC, ensuring implementation of the standardised measures.

Published in Dawn, January 19th, 2018