Test of patience: Breakdowns, low voltage plagues KTH

PESHAWAR: If healthy power consumers are feeling the heat in the absence of electricity, the situation for patients at hospitals is far worse.

According to the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) administration, the fluctuating power supply and low voltage had disrupted routine activity, such as important surgeries, at the medical facility.

Apart from surgeries, services at the outpatient department, diagnosis and dialysis were also hampered. Also, the air conditioning plant and other equipment was damaged,” a statement issued by the KTH administration read.

Officials dealing with administrative affairs told The Express Tribune after Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), KTH catered to the highest number of patients in the provincial capital. He added people from Peshawar and neighbouring districts visited the facility on a daily basis.

“The wards are overcrowded and you can feel it with the absence of air conditioning. At the children’s wards, there are not only kids but also their mothers who stay inside,” an official said. He stated standby generators were available at the facility, but were being used for emergency. The official said power supply was fluctuating and that could damage generators as well.

Meanwhile, the official statement issued by the KTH administration read patients were suffering in the heat and they also protested outside the facility. It stated the hospital administration was trying to control the situation.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2016.