Losing their cool: PIMS cooling systems out-of-order

Patients, attendants suffer; operations often delayed

ISLAMABAD: The out-of-order cooling system at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) is a cause of severe inconvenience to both, patients and attendants.

Operation theatres and intensive care units (ICUs) are the worst-affected, as procedures have been delayed because of the cooling system. Doctors said that specific room temperatures are extremely important for some procedures, otherwise injuries could worsen.

The central cooling system at PIMS has been out-of-order for several years.

An attendant, whose brother was due for an urgent kidney-related operation last week, told The Express Tribune that the procedure was delayed because of the problems with the cooling system.

“The fans and air conditions have been out-of-order for the past few days, making it difficult for us to wait here. But we cannot leave patients by themselves,” said another attendant.

Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University Vice Chancellor Dr Javed Akram admitted that most chillers installed in the main building are either out-of-order or are in poor condition.

“Five chillers were installed in the main building of the hospital when it was established back in 1985.  There are fifteen outpatient departments handling 8,500 patients and their attendants every day. These patients are at the mercy of ceiling fans and a few air conditioners, most of which do not work,” he said.

Akram added that patients in the intensive care and surgical units suffered the most.  “To the meet the urgency, split air conditioning units have been installed, but when the temperature crosses 36 degrees Celsius, these units also trip,” he added.

As many as 28 split units have installed with the help of philanthropists.

“Hospital air conditioning and hospital ventilation systems are required to meet higher performance standards and serve a greater function than those in standard buildings,” he said, adding that a hospital’s air conditioning system also has the added challenge of integrating with a number of other complex systems not present in PIMS.

Chillers systems, Akram stressed, were installed more than three decades and have gotten old and are beyond repair.

“Last year a Project Concept (PC-I) was submitted to the planning commission which was turned down due to lack of funds,” he said adding that a fresh PC-I of Rs 690 million for the installation of a central cooling system in the hospital has been submitted to the planning commission, which he hoped would grant approval soon.

“We arranged a meeting with planning commission finance ministry officials and communicated the urgency of the project...they agreed to approve the project on a priority basis,” PIMS Finance Director Asif Iqbal said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2016.