PESHAWAR, Sept 13: Absence of a burns ward and specialised facilities have been a cause of distress for people suffering from burn injuries, doctors at a local hospitals say. “The only burns unit we have is at the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH). It doesn’t have any facilities required by patients,” said a doctor at the same hospital. According to him, the 12-bed unit was established in 1995, but it lacks specialist burn-care.

“In June this year, the hospital administration prepared a plan to upgrade the ward by putting in place proper equipment, including special designed beds for burn patients, but it is yet to materialise,” said an official at the administration department of the KTH. He said that the plan was to be implemented through Asian Development Bank at a cost of Rs 26 million.

The problem of the patients is aggravated by the fact that there remains no doctor after 2pm and the patients are looked after by student only.

“Most of the patients come from poor background, who cannot afford treatment. But the medicines supplied to the patients by the hospital’s store are substandard and the doctors are unwilling to give them to the patients,” said a junior registrar of the surgical ward. He said that they admitted about 400 patients per year, of which 50 per cent die due to the severe burn injuries. “We have to run after the doctors in evening and night shifts, but they are not available. I have lodged a complaint in this regard, but no action has been taken,” said an Afghan, whose relative suffered burn injuries in Kabul two months ago. He said that the doctors had put his patient on the operation theatre list on three occasions in the past two weeks, but was dropped on each occasion.

The burn patients are admitted to the ward through surgical units. First, the patients are brought to the surgical wards from where they are admitted to the burns ward, subject to availability of beds there.

“Once the patient gets bed at the burn unit, they are looked after by the doctors of the respective surgical wards. So, the patients have to contact the doctors in surgical unit in the afternoon and night shift for any problem, which is difficult, because the surgical wards are located away from the burns unit,” said a medical officer.

He said that the ward is supposed to be headed by a doctor specialising in plastic surgery. The government had twice advertised the post, but the plastic surgeons are reluctant to apply for the post. “We want a full-fledged burns unit, where we can carry out plastic surgery. But there is no such facilities for plastic surgery, therefore, we are not interested in the post,” said a plastic surgeon.

“Complication of the post-burn injuries can be handled by the plastic surgeons only,” he said, and added that most of the patients were transported to Khariah due to lack of treatment facilities in Peshawar.

Meanwhile, District Nazim Ghulam Ali told Dawn that construction of the first-ever 70-bed burns hospital in the city was in progress. The hospital, he said, would cost an estimated amount of Rs 70 million. The provincial government, he said, had also provided Rs 10 million for the building. The first phase of the project included basement, ground, first and second floors to be completed in one year.