Healthcare promise: Islamabad General Hospital to have trauma centre

Construction of the hospital was on hold for over 15 years

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed on Friday informed the senate that the government will establish a trauma centre at the proposed Islamabad General Hospital, Tarlai.

During question hour in the upper house, the minister said that approval has been granted for a 200-bed hospital costing Rs2.72 billion. He added that the project would be completed in three years.

The project was conceived in 1997 but stayed on paper as no funds could be allocated for it.

In 2013, Ahmed, who was Minister In-charge of the Cabinet Secretariat, had also informed the National Assembly that the ICT Administration has prepared a PC-1 for the hospital, but the proposal was shelved.

Residents of Tarlai said that the government’s claim of providing healthcare facilities to rural residents was a facade.

The minister told the senate that three rural health centres were currently functioning in Bhara Kahu, Tarlai and Sihala. The minister said that these units were providing primary healthcare, vaccination for eight EPI-target diseases, mother-and-child healthcare services, outpatient services, and free provision of medicine.

Ahmed said 14 basic health units (BHU) equipped with all standard facilities and doctors were also operating in Islamabad Capital Territory, but none of them had a trauma centre.

The ground situation contradicts the claim of the minister, as five BHUs in rural area do not have doctors on staff. According to sources in the health department, at least 12 posts for doctors have been lying vacant in the 14 BHUs and three rural health centres (RHCs) of rural Islamabad.

BHUs in five villages — Shadra, Tumair, Gagrai, Bimber Tarar, and Gokina Tarar — have no doctors to attend to over 100,000 residents.

A modern RHC has been built in Sihala with facilities such as operation theatre, X-ray, and ultrasound machines, but it was being run by a medical officer without paramedical staff and sufficient medicine for a population of around 50,000 people. A similar facility has been built at a BHU in Shah Allah Ditta near Golra, but patients there complained about medicine shortages. According to the source, a nurse has been treating patients instead of a professional doctor.

“There is urgent need for medical facilities in rural areas to reduce the patient load at Pims and Polyclinic,” said a doctor at Pims while requesting anonymity.

The population of Islamabad has increased manifold but the capacity of healthcare facilities remains unchanged, the doctor said, adding that the capacity and quality of services at PIMS and Polyclinic should also be enhanced to handle cases of serious nature.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 16^th, 2016.