CHITRAL: The attendants of the patients admitted to the female ward of the District Headquarters Hospital, Chitral, staged a protest on Saturday morning after a number of Covid-19 patients were shifted to the ward late in the night.

The protesters told Dawn that the admission of Covid-19 patients to the general female ward could infect others as well.

They said the same staff, including nurses, was dealing with all the patients in the general ward, thus becoming the potential source of virus transmission.

The protesters complained that all the patients in the female ward were forced to use the same washrooms, thereby increasing the danger of infection. They termed this an utter violation of the protocols to save the people from coronavirus, and asked the authorities concerned to take notice of it.

A protester said the hospital’s administration argued that they had no other space available to accommodate the Covid-19 patients. He added it was the responsibility of the health facility’s management to arrange separate place for those suffering from coronavirus.

When contacted, medical superintendent Dr Shamim told Dawn that due to unavailability of space they had to admit the Covid-19 patients to the general ward. He said a day earlier eight pandemic patients had been referred from the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital, Drosh, thus increasing pressure on the main hospital.

He, however, promised to ask deputy medical superintendent to shift such patients to a separate ward. The medical superintendent said he had also tested positive for Covid-19, and quarantined himself at home.

Published in Dawn, August 15th , 2021