Compassionate care: Healing the needy for over half a century

ISLAMABAD: In a country where religious hatred and extremism has divided the society, there are still a few places where people are healed physically and spiritually irrespective of religion, caste and creed.

Bach Christian Hospital (BCH) nestled in Qalandarabad, a small town some six kilometres from Abbottabad and three hours drive from Islamabad, where Christians and Muslims have a deep-rooted connection founded on humanitarian grounds. For the locals, the hospital is a symbol of trust.

The sixty-bed hospital, being run by a charity, provides health care services to the underprivileged people in the northern part of Hazara Division of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Established in 1956 by The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), an Illinois-based organisation, under its international cross cultural mission, the hospital is named in the memory of Thomas Bach who was one of its founding missionaries.

The hospital was established to “promote spiritual, mental and physical wholeness of the people”.

The physical therapy department, after the 2005 earthquake, has expanded to include prosthetics.

At the moment, BCH has one of the busiest outpatient clinics in the area with 11 well-established departments, including obstetric and pediatric wards as well as two operation theatres. Over 400 patients visit the outpatient clinics of the hospital daily. The surgeons perform over 200 surgeries every month, and approximately 1,500 babies are delivered annually.

In a region where health facilities are either not up to scratch or too expensive, the hospital provides quality medical care to patients who suffer from diseases common in the region, such as diabetes, TB, typhoid, burns.

The hospital’s senior administrator Zubaid Inayat, sharing the information about the strength of the hospital and facilities said the there are two general surgeons, one obstetrician, two pediatricians, 12 physicians and a physical therapist from Germany, America, Scotland and Pakistan attending patients.

With specialties in general surgical services and complicated obstetrics, the hospital maintains a high quality lab, X-Ray, ultrasound and physiotherapy facilities as well as a well controlled pharmacy.

The total staff  of the missionary hospital is 225, the fees for out -patients is Rs 80, while  a surgical procedure  costs Rs 15000 with recuperation in a private room and the charges are halved in the private ward.

“Friendly, caring and efficient staff are the main factors that make BCH different from other health institutions in the area,” Muhammad Razzaq, a patient said. The entire staff of the hospital is committed to providing the best possible medical care to the patients, said an attendant Zaman Khan.

The organization mainly functions on a self-sustainable basis. The operational cost is covered through the income generated from the discounted fee charged by hospital for its various services and for capital procurements the organization relies on external donations.

Visiting health professionals, including students and residents, participate in clinical care, surgery, obstetrics, burn care, and physical therapy.

Bach Hospital is currently focusing on educating new and expecting mothers in two primary areas, lactation and nutrition. The poverty stricken women mostly face problems such as low birth weight babies and failure to thrive children due to nursing difficulties. The focus is to teach mothers how to become comfortable with nursing, including techniques and troubleshooting for the challenges that arise. There is also a focus on improving nutrition through education for nursing mothers and children. This initiative is providing great education for the community, healthier babies and mothers as well as great relationship opportunities for the workers of Bach Hospital.

Devoted:

Serving humanity with commitment, passion

“In recent months we have had unprecedented rejections of visa applications, both for those working here and for new physicians wanting to join our service from abroad,”  Bach Christian Hospital Chief Executive Officer Dr Luke Cutherell said while sharing his concern with The Express Tribune about the future of the hospital.

“This has become a great concern for us, and is a threat to the viability of this institution, which has served the local people for decades.”

Cutherell stated further that we have served here through wars and terrorist attacks and have demonstrated our commitment to caring for the people of this area, through good and bad times.

“My parents were a part of the group that helped to start this hospital, having spent nearly forty years in their adopted country.”

The BCH head said that we are not oblivious to the troubles the country is facing and we have been a part of the difficult years since 2001.

Notwithstanding the security situation he appreciated the many merits that are a part of this culture which are not often portrayed in the international media.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 27^th, 2016.