RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has established a 50-bed coronavirus quarantine at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU).

Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer told Dawn that Benazir Bhutto Hospital was declared focal hospital for coronavirus but quarantine had been established at RIU.

“All the suspected patients will be shifted to RIU quarantine direct from New Islamabad International Airport. If any patient had developed symptoms of deadly virus, he/she will be shifted immediately to Benazir Bhutto Hospital for treatment,” he said.

He said the government wanted to establish quarantine in the hospital which could easily be approached so an under construction RIU was selected.

“We have made arrangements and detailed doctors to look after the suspected patients and monitor them,” he said.

Doctors, nurses and paramedics trained to deal with patients as per SOP issued by WHO

He said that initially 30 beds ward was made functional.

“We have not received any suspected patient from Rawalpindi as yet. However, the doctors, nurses and paramedical staff had been trained to deal with the patients as per SOP issued by World Health Organisation and provincial government,” he said.

On the other hand, the provincial government had set March-end as deadline to make the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology function.

RMU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer said that in the first phase, Outpatients Department will be functional in March and facility of dialysis of kidney patients would be provided.

He said RMU had provided 35 paramedical and technical members and 15 doctors to the hospital and they would work there until the RIU recruits its own staff and doctors.

He said that the recruitment would be completed next month and in this regard, the applications had been sought through the advertisement in the newspapers.

He said the recruitment was a long process and it would be purely on merit.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi Commissioner retired Capt Mohammad Mehmood chaired a meeting to review the on-going project of Rawalpindi Institute of Urology.

Rawalpindi Institute of Urology is a state of the art hospital which will not only provide treatment to the people of Rawalpindi but patients from other areas as well, he added.

The commissioner was informed that first three floors of the hospital will be fully functional by March.

He directed the officials concerned to ensure provision of fire safety system and alarms in these three floors.

On the complaint of medical superintendent regarding encroachment issue, he ordered the assistant commissioner Saddar to deal with the showroom owners and push them back to their approved and legal area vacating right of the way as it not only inconvenienced patients but residents of the nearby areas as well.

He said that the Punjab government was committed to providing its people better health, medical and education facilities for which enormous schemes had been initiated.

This meeting was held at the commissioner office and attended by Director Development Nazia Sudhan, Assistant Commissioner (Saddar) Zahid Khan, Rawalpindi Institute of Urology, PHA Senior Engineer buildings Shehzad Hussain, Executive Engineer Imran Ali, Wasa Director Manzoor Ahmed, Nespak Engineer Mohammad Tariq, bio-medical engineer Asim Zia and other officials concerned.

Published in Dawn, February 15th, 2020