Patients wait for hours to get a bed after admission. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD: Citizens on Monday asked the quarters concerned to increase the beds number in all major hospitals of the federal capital to ensure provision of best medical care to incoming patients with severe health complications.
According to them, several patients face routine delays for having hospitals bed after emergency admission in major hospitals like Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and Federal Government Polyclinic (FGPC) on daily basis.
They said that hospitals administrations use emergency corridors and side rooms to cope with the growing number of incoming patients at emergency and other departments of Pims and FGPC.
Patients from across the country visit these hospitals due to better facilities. The authorities need to make arrangements to increase the number of beds and accommodate more ailing people.
Arif Hameed, an attendant of patient at Pims said it took him three hours to get a bed for his brother who had suffered a cardiac arrest.
“My brother, Waseem, aged 55 years, was rushed to Pims on complaint of chest pain with fear of heart attack. On arrival at hospital he was advised blood and heart tests. At that point, hospital staff decided to admit him for further checks, but he spent more than three hours waiting for a bed,” he added.
The existing beds were not sufficient to bear the burden of incoming patients at Pims and FGPC, Irfan Khan, a patient admitted at Pims said.
“I am satisfied with the services being provided by the hospital management but due to limited beds many patients have to return back and get admission in private hospitals,” Irfan said.
Another patient Salim Khan said many poor patients could not afford the expenses of private hospitals and asked for ensuring availability of beds in different departments of Pims and FGPC.
He said there was a limited space available at Pims emergency where mostly serious patients visit with severe health complications and needed stay at hospital till recovery.
Imran Arif, a brother of a patient at FGPC said health care services should be improved at hospital emergency to entertain maximum number of patients.
He said only limited beds were available in the wards, attached with the emergency department, where not only staff was limited but there was acute shortage of medicines.
Dr Sobia Faisal, a medical practitioner said, “No doctor wants to see patients waiting in corridors, side rooms and emergency entry or exit points when they should be admitted to a hospital bed.
These patients are still under the care of doctors and nurses of course, but this is not ideal for them as overcrowding leads towards outcomes.”
She said the overcrowding was dangerous as it leads to worse outcome for patients like higher rate of infection and carrying of communicable diseases.
When contacted, an official of Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) said the government would improve the services at Pims and FGPC as both hospitals were providing health care services to the residents of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, their adjoining areas, northern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
He said the government was also working on extension of FGPC and for the purpose, a land piece of 2.54 acres adjacent to FGPC had been allocated.
The official said after the said construction, the bed capacity would be increased from 545 existing to 1,100 and allocation of Rs100 million as token allocations had been made in the PSDP of last financial year.
Similarly, he added, the government was working on PC-1 for construction of new self-contained specialty block in Pims comprising a 50-bed burn centre, an improved mother and child centre, new 200-bed gynaecology centre and a new 100-bed trauma centre.
He said a new OPD of 150 consulting rooms catering for at least 3,000 consultations per day, a 200-bed Children’s Hospital new block, with a 50-bed central ICU and a new operation theatre complex would also be part of the project.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 15th, 2017.
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