Dr Mirza says no shortage of medical facilities for Covid-19 patients

Urges people to adopt SOPs to effectively implement lockdown relaxation policy

ISLAMABAD: State Minister for Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Saturday dispelled the impression of the shortage of facilities for Covid-19 patients in the country, saying that 75 per cent beds in the intensive care units (ICU) of hospitals were still unoccupied.

Dr Mirza said that only 25% of beds with ventilators were being used by coronavirus patients, while a sufficient number was available for incoming patients. “There is no shortage of beds, ventilators, or any other facility for Covid-19 patients,” he said, emphatically.

“Also, there is no shortage of PPE [personal protection equipment] kits for frontline health workers and doctors. The government is regularly providing PPE kits to 450 hospitals across the country,” Dr Mirza told a media briefing.

He said the government was committed to ensure the availability of medical services for corona patients and the provision of the best possible treatment. In this regard, he said, a “Resource Management System (RMS) has been developed to collect real-time information about the patients throughout the country”.

“All hospitals across Pakistan have been linked with this system. These hospitals can update real-time data to provide a unified and consolidated picture of the available resources to treat coronavirus patients,” he said.

“With this system, the government will be able to know the beds and ventilators’ occupancy and availability at the ICUs and allocated wards of hospitals. With the help of this system, the authorities can easily manage the situation in hospitals. Shortage of any equipment could also be managed,” he added.

According to Mirza, steady and adequate direct supplies of PPE kits were being handled by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), while the federal government had started the ‘We Care’ campaign to protect and support frontline health workers in the context of Covid-19.

“The ‘We care’ [campaign] aimed at providing adequate personal protective equipment to the health workers, giving them orientation on using various PPE items as per international standards, and creating an overall psycho-social environment of care and support,” Dr Mirza continued.

“This initiative also aims at sensitising the public, including patients and visitors, to supports frontline healthcare workers by following preventive behaviors not only to reduce the risk of infection to themselves but also reduce the work burden on the health providers.”

Dr Mirza appealed to the citizens to follow all standard operating procedures (SOPs) during these days and avoid handshake and avoid leaving home without any reason in order to support the efforts of government in its fight against Covid-19.

He noted that there were complaints about violation of the SOPs in the markets by the citizens as well as the shopkeepers. He asked the people to adopt SOPs to effectively implement the lockdown relaxation policy.

“This relaxation policy can be successfully implemented if people fully cooperate with the government and implement all SOPs. Otherwise, there are chances of the spread of disease. People need to ensure compliance of the SOPs to counter coronavirus pandemic,” he added.