Lady Willingdon Hospital: Hostel for females without water for a week

Water pipeline and sanitary fittings were laid down before Partition

LAHORE: About 70 doctors and students staying at the Lady Willingdon Hospital’s hostel have been deprived of tap water for the past one week, creating massive inconveniences for the female residents.

The hospital is a 235-bed tertiary health care unit providing indoor and outdoor facilities. The hospital attends booked cases throughout the week, emergency cases 48 hours a week and every third Sunday of the month. A large number of patients from underprivileged families not only from Lahore but Sheikhupura and Gujranwala visit the hospital every day.

The gynaecological facility was constructed before Partition and since then no developing work has been carried out there, according to Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Athar Hussain.

“A 1,000-foot-long water pipeline has been clogged, leading to the water shortage. We started repair works on immediate basis when the issue came to our knowledge,” he added.

The hospital is carrying out the work on self-finance basis as waiting for funds from the Punjab Health Department will take more than a month, Dr Athar said. “Hopefully it will be fixed today and the hospital will have running water from tomorrow,” he added.

Replying to a question, the deputy medical superintendent said the water pipelines and other sanitary fittings were laid down before Partition and there was immediate need to replace them.

While talking to The Express Tribune, Dr Fatima, a house officer at the Lady Willingdon Hospital, said the hostel comprised 40 rooms, where 70 female medical students and doctors working and studying at the King Edward Medical University (KEMU) and its affiliated hospital were staying.

“Can anyone believe what kind of difficulties we are facing as females?” she lamented. “Whenever we complain to the hospital administrators, they reply the pipelines will be fixed today,” she added. One week has passed and no one has replaced the broken pipelines.

She added that due to the lack of water, several operational procedures and services at outpatient departments have been suspended for the past one week.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2017.