RAWALPINDI: A five-member team of Punjab Specialized Health Care and Medical Education on Wednesday arrived in the garrison city to check facilities at the three government-run hospitals.

The Punjab government has sent the team after Prime Minister Imran Khan found the hospitals lacking certain facilities during his visit on Monday night.

The team has been tasked to compile a report identifying deficiencies within 48 hours.

Dr Fayyaz Ahmad Butt, Medical Superintendent of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Lahore, was heading the team.

Other members are Dr Nasir Mehmood, Deputy Secretary, Specialized Health care and Medical Education Department, Dr Khalid Hussain of Punjab Institute of Cardiology, Dr Shahbaz Ashraf, Director Strategic Management and Internal Policy Unit, Lahore and Dr Mohammad Naeem Malik, Field Coordinator, Strategic Management and Internal Policy Unit, Lahore.

The team had been tasked to identify operational, technical and management issues pertaining to patient care and propose immediate, short-term and long-term solutions.

A senior official of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) told Dawn that the team visited three hospitals on Wednesday. The terms of reference of the team is to identify the deficiencies in patient management including patients flow, diagnostic and treatment services and propose solutions.

He said the team would also ascertain whether all the equipment were functional or not.

He said that the team would recommend steps for optimal utilization of patient examination rooms and offices.

“The team will submit its report to the health minister within a day or two,” he said.

When contacted, BBH Medical Superintendent Dr Tariq Niazi said the team inspected all the departments in the hospital.

The MS said the hospital administration shared all the details of the patients, equipment and doctors with the team.

He said the facilities being provided by philanthropists were also shared with the team.

A senior doctor of DHQ Hospital told Dawn that there were dire need to improve the machinery in the hospital but the government failed to allocate funds in this regard.

“Such inspections were made in the past also. Last year, the medical experts of Turkey prepared a report about deficiencies in the government-run hospitals in Rawalpindi and submitted it to the Punjab government but to no avail,” he said.

He said after the visit of the chief minister and health ministers, such exercise was made by the provincial healthcare department. He said that the PML-N government had decided to make Benazir Bhutto Hospital a model for the region but later, the project proved to be nonstarter due to shortage of funds.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2019