Key Sheikhupura hospital unable to treat those in need

Four to five children are forced to share a single bed in the emergency ward

SHEIKHUPURA: The lack of facilities at the Shehbaz Sharif Mother Care and Children’s Hospital has angered the citizens of Sheikhupura.

At the only mother care and children’s complex for a population of 26 million, four to five children are forced to share a single bed at the emergency ward. This increases the possibility of transmitting diseases, while it has also been reported that staff members continue to misbehave with patients.

Countless patients have been referred to Lahore after being informed that the hospital does not possess a ventilator. This has even resulted in deaths after patients died halfway to the hospital in the provincial capital.

When Express News visited the facility, many patients voiced their complaints over the facility. Several women who had visited the facility for a regular check-up maintained that the gynaecologists behaved rudely with them.

Shagufta Bibi claimed that after being made to wait five to six hours, they were told to go and visit a private clinic as time was up. The women protested against the hospital administration, saying they were unable to avail healthcare services at private clinics.

The patients at the facility urged the government to take notice of the situation and ensure the provision of basic healthcare facilities. They added that strict action must be taken against doctors who misbehaved with patients.

 



The patients maintained that they had filed complaints over the condition of the hospital, but nothing had improved since.

When attempts were made to contact the district administration, Health CEO Dr Tariq Masood refused to comment.

Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid extended the 60-day deadline issued to all tehsil headquarters hospitals (THQs) across Punjab to improve their performance.

“In the future, the ACRs of medical and administrative officers shall be written on the basis of their attitude towards patients,” said the minister.

She expressed these views while chairing a meeting with all chief executive officers of district health authorities and medical superintendents of THQ hospitals across Punjab.

No stone will remain unturned in bringing the emergencies of all hospitals up to the mark, she vowed.

Referring to the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab CM Usman Buzdar, the health minister declared that the blood banks in all public hospitals should be made functional. “No emergency can deliver efficient services without a functional blood bank,” she stressed.

During the meeting, the health minister said that a fresh stock of medicines had been dispatched to all the districts. She also directed medical superintendents to avoid unnecessarily referring patients to Lahore. She noted there were many hazards associated with shifting patients in critical condition.

The minister was of the view that patients should be provided access to health facilities at their doorstep. “If there are any lapses in the system, then the provincial government should be informed,” she said.

She also issued directives that focal persons should be appointed in all THQ hospitals within the next two days.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2018.