World Diabetes Day: K-P’s only diabetes centre buckling under pressure

Awareness walk held by hospital to highlight the need for more insulin and beds.

PESHAWAR: An awareness walk on World Diabetes Day was organised by the diabetes centre at the Hayatabad Medical Complex to highlight the burden of being the province’s sole source of treatment for the disease.

The walk on Wednesday was held on the hospital premises, which the authorities admitted did not completely fulfil the requirement for public awareness.

The 34-bed diabetes department, the only one in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, provides free of cost treatment to patients across the province, despite having a limited number of insulin injections and few beds.

“Patients coming from the northern areas of the province and particularly from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) consult the centre’s doctors when their disease becomes worse because they do not get treatment facilities in their hometowns,” said Dr AH Amir, the head of diabetes at the centre.

“We have received around 15,000 patients in the last 10 months and have admitted those who have severe problems. They get treatment through the help of the World Health Organization and other donor agencies,” he said.

He added that the government should open one centre on the district level and provide more insulin injections to their diabetes centre.

Pakistan had seven million diabetics till the last survey conducted in 1995. This number is expected to increase to 11 million by the year 2030.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 15^th, 2012.