A small dispensary that opened on Hospital Road in the Rawalpindi Cantonment in 1901 has transformed over the last 100 years into a well-equipped hospital for the civilian population.

The dispensary was expanded into a 20-bed hospital after the 1947 partition. In 1989, a new building was built on extra land donated by former federal minister Raja Shahid Zafar. At the time, the hospital was running on one shift with 80 beds.

However, work to revamp the hospital and procure essential electronic medical equipment over the last two years has increased its capacity to 500 beds.

The story of the hospital begins with the expansion of the garrison city. In 1901, the British allowed civilians to settle within the cantonment areas and opened markets and business areas.

Older residents said the dispensary was established for civilian residents who would otherwise have to travel to the city for medical treatment. The dispensary was opened in the old barracks of British forces, with a few rooms and a veranda. Gradually the dispensary expanded into a hospital known for its maternity services.

For several decades the hospital was not in good condition, but residents of the cantonment had no other medical facility in the area. They instead turned to the city’s three government-run hospitals or to private clinics.

The hospital lacked C.T. scan, X-ray and other pathological examination services. The gynaecology department also lacked facilities, and there were no incubators available for newborns.

In light of the situation, in 2018 the federal government allocated Rs560 million to renovate the hospital.

Mohammad Akram, who lives on Peshawar Road, said the new equipment and the improved condition of the hospital were a pleasant surprise.

“My first son was born there four years ago. He contracted an infection and there were no facilities at the hospital to treat him. I had no choice but to move to Holy Family Hospital,” he said.

But, he added, he saw new changes when he visited a relative admitted to the gynaecology ward.

“I saw new changes. Otherwise it was considered a haunted area that people did not visit for treatment.

Saddar resident Masood Raja said he never visited the cantonment hospital because it lacked medicines and good nurses and doctors. But with the changes that have recently been made, he said, the situation would likely improve in the coming days.

Rawalpindi Cantonment Board Cantonment Executive Officer Sibtain Raza told Dawn that the hospital had 11 departments and bed capacity of 500. It is the main hospital in the cantonment, and the number of patients has increased from 7,127 to 27,255 in the last year, he said.

The average outpatient department flow has also risen from 158,981 last year to 181,905 this year, he said.

Mr Raza said a modular operation facility has been introduced with five operation theatres under one roof. He said the theatres are the most hygienic, and the easiest to clean and maintain.

A central water reserve osmosis system has been installed to provide safe water to all the operation theatres, and a hygienic laundry has been set up to wash hospital clothing and linens, he said.

He added that an imported hospital waste incinerator has been installed to dispose of infected waste. The system does not produce hazardous gases and water is drained after being properly treated.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2020