PESHAWAR: A new state-of-the-art accident and emergency department will begin operation in the public sector medical teaching institution Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) within a month.

The nine-storey building of the new A&E block has been built by the health department to improve facilities for the critically-ill and injured patients. Currently, the Lady Reading Hospital is taking most of the patients from the bomb and other terrorism-related incidents, which often remains overflowing with violence-stricken patients.

The construction of A&E Department was started in 2009, but the health department speeded up its construction as part of plan to strengthen emergency services throughout the province.

It will have eight operating theatres to give prompt treatment to patients

Dr Inayatullah, in charge of the A&E block, told Dawn that the building would have all facilities required for the seriously-ill and wounded people besides women and children.

The 326-bed department completed at the cost of Rs1.31 billion will have eight operating theatres to give prompt treatment to the patients.

The health department has also approved Rs2.71 billion for purchase of equipments, he said.

The present BoG has taken keen interest to fulfil the deficiencies and issued directives for expediting the process of shifting. The supply of medical gasses is in progress and will be completed in a week.

Dr Inayat said that the new block located inside the hospital was accessible to patients from all sides, especially from the Khyber district. He said that the launch of the new AED would also reduce the patients’ load on Hayatabad Medical Complex and LRH.

“We are going to start it with the staff already working at the hospital and new PC-1 has been submitted to the health department for its approval from the finance department,” he said.

He added that the new staff would include positions of emergency and trauma specialists besides paramedics and nurses who would be deployed exclusively for coping with serious patients.

He said that a full-fledged neurosurgery, spinal card surgery and cardiology department were also part of the new department.

He said that it would have the facility of cath lab to ensure quick services to the people with heart ailments. In addition to medical facilities a big parking lot with 120-car capacity has also been established.

Dr Inayat said that the new building had been equipped with investigative services, including ultrasound, x-rays, minor operating theatre, CT scan facilities and pathological services besides mortuary and cafeteria. “We have established casualty ward for 85 patients on the ground floor to handle any case of mass emergency,” he said.

KTH spokesman Farhad Khan said that the board of governors had given approval to launching the new block after Eidul Azha.

He said it would enable them to provide treatment to the patients without referring them to wards.

“Currently, seriously sick and wounded people are referred to the wards for admission after first aid, but after the start of new block the patients would be treated here,” he said, adding that there were eight high dependency and intensive care units each having eight beds for medical and surgical patients.

As part of promoting emergency medical education, there is a 150-seat auditorium which will be used for academic conferences to impart skills to the health workers for training purposes.

Farhad Khan said that the facility would produce trauma specialists who could be deployed in hospitals throughout the province.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2018