LAHORE: Amid record number of deaths and the highest reported patients this year, the healthcare facilities for those affected by dengue virus at both the public as well as private hospitals of Punjab are worsening with every passing day, putting a big question mark on the province’s ability to fight the disease.

The issue has been further highlighted in two official reports; one issued by the Dengue Expert Advisory Group (DEAG) and the other by the Rawalpindi Medical University vice chancellor, regarding failure of the senior managers in ensuring provision of health care at the public hospitals enormously burdened with dengue patients.

In a related development, the Nishtar Medical University (NMU), Multan’s vice chancellor slapped a ban on the entry of district administration officials into the varsity when it recovered dengue larva from various spots on the campus and the attached hospital, to avoid embarrassment.

Multan deputy commissioner and his team had conducted a sweeping operation in the NMU and found the VC negligent.

According to the DEAG report, total 14 private and four government hospitals were not cooperating with it to deal with the dengue emergency and in providing treatment to the patients in Punjab.

It stated that leading private hospitals of Lahore, including Doctors Hospital, National Hospital, Defence, Adil Hospital and Farooq Hospital were blatantly violating dengue regulations, guidelines and SOPs.

These hospitals, it said, were neither making data entry of dengue patients, nor setting up dedicated units to provide them treatment.

The DEAG is the only high-level official body of Punjab formed after the dengue virus had hit the province badly some nine years back.

According to official figures, the virus has claimed nine lives during a month or so, while the total number of patients has reached 3,709 after 155 new confirmed cases were reported in Punjab during the last 24 hours.

The reported deaths and confirmed dengue cases were said to be the highest in the province during the last seven years or so.

According to the year-wise comparison, no dengue-related death was reported in Punjab from 2012 to 2015. However, one patient had died in 2016, four in 2017 and two in 2018, while the number had reached nine in 2019 with some reports that the condition of eight more patients was very critical in various hospitals of the province.

Similarly, the number of registered dengue patients was also the highest in 2019 in Punjab as compared to the cases reported during the last seven years, including 255 in 2012, 2,634 in 2013, 1,411 in 2014, 3,912 in 2015, 2,590 in 2016, 508 in 2017 and 538 in 2018.

The DEAG has reported very pathetic situation with regard to provision of healthcare to the dengue patients in the government hospitals too.

According to the report, the government hospitals violating dengue guidelines included Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, Lahore General Hospital, Kot Khwaja Saeed Hospital and the Government Shahdara Teaching Hospital.

The DEAG reported that these hospitals were deliberately under-reporting the dengue patients, misleading the authorities concerned. Neither they appointed trained doctors and nurses to attend these patients, nor providing test facilities to them for timely diagnosis.

Similarly, eight private hospitals of Rawalpindi and two of Faisalabad were also violating the health department SOPs on dengue patients’ care and treatment.

The DEAG stated that it was finding it too difficult to make accurate assessment of the dengue burden on Punjab to provide them the best available treatment.

The group lauded the services of only one government facility in Punjab -- Allied Hospital Faisalabad – for raising excellent set up and keeping well-maintained record in this respect.

Similarly, in its worrying report the Rawalpindi Medical University VC Mohammad Omar held the government health authorities responsible for dengue spread in the city, saying they failed to provide adequate human resource and equipment to the state-run hospitals.

He said since the Rawalpindi has been hit hard by dengue epidemic this year, all the hospitals were short of resources.

In his report, he demanded the government to address chronic issues in three areas — human resource, life-saving medical equipment and medicines — to prevent more deaths.

According to the report, the Holy Family Hospital (HFH), Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) and District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) were facing an acute shortage of life-saving drug Infusion Dextran 40 for dengue patients with complications. The VC demanded 500 packs of this medicine for the three state-run hospitals of Rawalpindi, 200 each for HFH and BBH, and 100 for the DHQ.

He also pointed out that these hospitals were in immediate need of five chemistry analyzers, three ultrasound machines, 500 more beds with mattresses, 1,500 bed sheets, 250 waiting chairs, 13 air conditioners (2 ton), 40 pedestal and 50 ceiling fans for the management of increasing burden of dengue patients.

The VC of the Rawalpindi Medical University also pointed out many other deficiencies.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2019