Waiting on miracles: Caregivers queue up outside LRH ICU in search of space

Seven-bed general unit caters to three wards of the province’s biggest hospital

PESHAWAR: Lady Reading Hospital’s (LRH) general intensive care unit (ICU) caters to three major wards and is equipped with only seven beds, despite it being the flagship medical facility of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Although some departments have their own ICUs within their respective buildings, a lack of space in the general ICU causes trouble.



Especially for patients from surgical, gynaecological and medical wards in critical condition who need to be moved to the general ICU.

“My uncle is in critical condition and needs to be put on the ventilator at the earliest,” said Anwar Shah, a resident of Sherkera. “There is no space in the general ICU—we are forced to keep him in the medical ward,” he told The Express Tribune.

In Shah’s experience, there are only two conditions in which one can find space in the ICU. “Either a patient dies or recovers to make room for another,” said the caregiver, highlighting how the ICU never has room to spare.

“I have been sitting outside the general ICU door for days as I can’t afford to lose any ‘opportunity’ which comes by.”

It is said when caregivers loiter outside the unit’s entrance, the medical staff asks them to “pray for either of the ‘two conditions’ so room can be made to accommodate more patients”.

Under construction

Officials requesting anonymity said the LRH has been overburdened and is forced to accommodate patients from across the province due to a lack of well-equipped hospitals in K-P.

According to one official, since there are medical colleges in every division, the government should facilitate divisional hospitals so minor cases are dealt with locally. It will not only help patients avoid the trek to the provincial capital but also help save lives.



However, he added, “Keeping the shortage of space in view, we started constructing another ICU where 90% of the work is complete.” The new 18-bed ICU will soon be functional, he said.

LRH medical superintendent Dr Shareef Ahmad could not be reached despite repeated attempts.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2014.