RAWALPINDI: Three government-run hospitals have submitted their requisition for machinery, beds worth Rs400 million as well as staff to the Punjab government for emergency departments.

The Punjab government had asked the Holy Family Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital and District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital to submit the requisition aimed at improving their emergency services.

Emergency departments of three government run hospitals are without equipment and shortage of beds which force the patients to go to private hospitals and laboratories.

The Medical Superintendent of the Holy Family Hospital Dr Shahzad Ahmed told Dawn they had sought equipment and other facilities worth Rs190 million to improve services of gynae section of the emergency department.

He said being main department of the hospital the emergency section should have all the requisite facilities. He said that patients from across the region came to the Holy Family Hospital as it was the largest hospital among four districts of Rawalpindi Division.

He said that beds would be increased for gynae patients as at present, the people had to share the beds.

“We do not refuse to the emergency patient instead we accommodate all patients by making arrangements for the patients,” he said.

Benazir Bhutto Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr. Arshad Ali Sabir said the hospital was direly needed latest machinery for the pathological laboratory and staff to manage the emergency patients.

The Punjab government constructed new building for the emergency department of Benazir Bhutto hospital in 2014 but it was not functioning properly for want of equipments and staff.

A senior official of BBH told Dawn that the hospital was facing shortage of doctors and nurses in the emergency department.

He said that the number of staff should be increased with the number of beds. At present, the young doctors are forced to do the duties for more than 36 hours, he added.

On the other hand, the DHQ hospital administration has prepared demands worth Rs100 million.

The installation of CT scan machine was their main demand as the machine installed in the hospital has lived its life and has been developing faults for the last two years.

When contacted, DHQ Hospital Additional Medical Superintendent Dr. Irfan Khilji said the hospital had prepared the demand to add new equipment in the emergency department to improve the services.

“Gynae and peads wards will be improved while CT scan machines and other equipment for cardiac patients’ laboratory tests will be installed after getting the equipment or money from the provincial government,” he said.

He said the emergency department of the hospital lacked many facilities which had not been provided for want of funds.

He said the directives from the provincial government had provided a sigh of relief to the hospital administration as they had constantly been receiving complaints from the people about lack of facilities at the hospital.

Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2018