PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government with the assistance of National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) is adding about 950 high dependency beds to the health system to ensure effective management of critically-ill Covid-19 patients.
A statement said that a meeting held here with Chief Minister Mahmoof Khan in the chair was told in the first phase 478 high dependency beds would be added to the existing capacity by the end of the current month
The meeting was attended by NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Mohammad Afzal, National Command and Operation Centre Director General Maj Gen Asif Goraya, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz, administrative secretaries, representatives of 11 Corps, Health Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and Adviser to Chief Minister Ajmal Wazir.
In the first phase, 478 high dependency unit (HDU) beds will be added to the existing capacity by the end of this month.
Meeting briefed about capacity of hospitals to deal with coronavirus
In the second phase, 315 more beds will be added by the end of next month to be followed by addition of 150 more beds in the third phase.
The meeting was briefed in details about the existing capacity of public sector hospitals to deal with coronavirus patients and steps being taken to augment the overall capacity of the health facilities to the maximum possible level.
The meeting was informed that as per capacity expansion plan, 90 HDU beds would be added to the existing capacity of Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC); 50 to Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH); 40 to Mardan Medical Complex; 50 each to Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex (QHAMC) Nowshera, Saidu Group of Hospitals and Bacha Khan Medical Complex Swabi; 100 to Women and Children Hospital Charsadda; and 48 beds would be provided to Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH) Abbottabad in the first phase of the plan.
In the second phase, 50 HDU beds will be added to the existing capacity of Khalifa Gul Nawaz Hospital Bannu; 30 to Mufti Mehmood Memorial Hospital D I Khan; 50 to District Headquarters Hospital Batkhela; and 85 to Institute of Hepatalogy Peshawar, whereas 100 HDU beds will be added to the Women and Children Block of ATH Abbottabad and 150 beds to Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC).
In the first phase, 25 each ICU beds would be added to the existing capacity of LRH, HMC and KTH; 10 to Mardan Medical Complex; 10 to QHAMC and five to ATH Abbottabad. In the second phase, 50 ICU beds will be added to the existing number of ICU beds in PIC.
The NDMA chairman was requested to provide urgently the required medical equipments including ventilators, cardiac monitors, oxygen contractors, PCR machines and portable ultrasound machines to the public sector hospitals of the province.
The NDMA chairman assured all out support to the provincial government and said they would arrange ventilators and allied facilities of 350 ICU patients within the next 15 days.
He also pledged to arrange oxygen cylinders, plasma machines and trained manpower for coronavirus patients.
Published in Dawn, June 18th, 2020