Hospitals swamped with patients on Eid

People stream in with road accident injuries, gastro issues

ISLAMABAD: After butchers, it seems doctors had a busy time over the Eid holidays as patients swarmed to the emergency wards of major government hospitals with complaints of accidents, gastroenteritis and food poisoning.

According to officials at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and the Federal Government Services Hospital (Polyclinic), over 6,000 patients were brought to the hospitals with various complaints.



At Pims, more than 3,000 patients were brought to the emergency ward from Islamabad and its adjoining areas over the past three days. Officials said that they were treated for various complications but around 30 per cent of the patients complained of food poisoning and stomach issues.

Over 150 were injured in road accidents, including one-wheeling on motorbikes. Another 1,000 sought treatment for minor injuries sustained after being struck by sacrificial animals.

“Patients were injected with antibiotics, and a vaccine to prevent tetanus,” said Dr Waseem Khawaja of Pims. Around 1,200 tetanus injections were administered to the injured butchers and others so that the wounds may not be affected by the bacteria.

At Polyclinic too, around 3,424 patients were brought to the hospital between August 21-23.

A majority of them complained of gastroenteritis or had been involved in accidents.

“Apart from gastro, diarrhoea, and vomiting, many patients came with complaints of gastritis since people did not give sufficient time for the food to digest and kept on eating, said Dr Sharif Astori, of Polyclinic.

“Beef takes longer to digest so people should eat with proper breaks. They should eat as per the need of the body, not their wishes,” he suggested.

The rainy season also added to health concerns with food and meat rotting faster than usual while water was also gets polluted in this season. Dr Astori said that even those drinking water from the government-installed filtration plants complained of similar issues and suggested that the plants are not properly maintained.



There were many came to the hospital with injuries, especially youngsters who drove carelessly on eid leading to road accidents.

Many tried to transport their sheep and goats on motorbikes to save transport charges but it led to untoward accidents, he said.

Most of these patients were discharged after being provided with first aid but only 24 children and 18 elders were admitted for observation, the Polyclinic official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2018.