KARACHI: The owners of private hospitals have agreed to provide consultants in specialised fields to the control and command centre soon to be set up by the health department on the Covid-19 emergency.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the health minister on Thursday in her office.

The meeting was attended by Dr Salman Faridi of the Liaquat National Hospital, Dr Asim Hussain of Dr Ziauddin Hospital, Dr Abdul Bari of the Indus Hospital, Dr Zerkais of Ankelsaria Hospital, Dr Sadia Rizvi of the South City Hospital and Dr Aijaz Ahmed Khanzada, chief technical adviser to the secretary health, among others.

The meeting participants decided that a command and control centre led by focal person on coronavirus Dr Abdul Bari would be set up by the health department.

Private hospitals would make available their consultants in specialised fields to the centre, which would hold regular meetings and provide update on the coronavirus situation.

It was also decided that a portal in the health department would be created by the focal person and a complete handbook of the Sindh government on the prevention and treatment of Covid-19 would be posted in three parts; prevention and control management, diagnosis and treatment and nursing and consulting services.

Representatives of the private hospitals were of the view that “all hospitals shouldn’t be infected with the virus and left for non-Covid-19 patients in need of urgent care”.

The government, they said, should first utilise the 2,200 beds available at the Indus Hospital, the Dow University Hospital and the Aga Khan University Hospital for management of Covid-19 patients.

Once these beds were occupied, private hospitals would provide a list of hospitals to be made available for coronavirus patients.

These hospitals would then be provided necessary safety equipment and medicines by the Sindh government, they said.

Vacant Nipa hospital

Some participants recommended that vacant units of the health department, such as the 500-bedded Nipa hospital, should be utilised for the crisis.

The participants assured the health minister that they would provide both equipment and manpower support if the government faced shortage of beds.

The meeting began with a vote of thanks to the minister for taking the private sector into confidence on the treatment of coronavirus patients.

Earlier, participants thanked the minister for taking the private sector on board on the public health crisis.

They, however, objected to not notifying Dr Junaid Ali Shah, president of the Private Hospital Clinics Association on the meeting. The minister agreed to the concern and directed for the same.

Published in Dawn, April 10th, 2020