ATH needs to revive its burns unit

Lone facility for burns victims non-functional for two decades

ABBOTTABAD: Ayub Teaching Hospital (ATH) medical director has vowed to all efforts to activate the burns unit of the hospital.

Dr Mahwish Tariq, Assistant Professor at ATH, had died at CMH Kharain during treatment for burns wounds she had suffered in an accident at ATH.

The only burn unit in the Hazara division is at ATH. It has 20 beds with the capacity to treat only 30 to 40 per cent burn injuries, was inactive from last two decades and moreover services of a plastic surgeon are crucial in a burn unit which is not available in.

It was ironic that an ATH professor could not receive treatment at her own institution.

Death toll of burn patients in Hazara division is drastically increases owing to the non-availability of the burns unit facility across the region due to which patients are usually referred to Punjab for treatment.

Unfortunately both the political elite of Hazara division and the provincial government paid no attention to this grave concern of the people, as a result dozens of burn patients have lost their lives while reaching different hospitals of Punjab and Islamabad or most of the patients those had no financial constraints died in miserable conditions in Abbottabad.

During last three weeks four burn patients of Hazara have lost their lives in the hospitals of Punjab.

ATH medical director also promised to hire the services of a plastic surgeon and put the case in the agenda of board of governors meeting for the induction of a full-time plastic surgeon.  

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2018.