Oxygen at twin city hospitals boosted
PHOTO: FILE
In the wake of seven patients succumbing to the novel coronavirus in one of the largest government-run hospitals of neighbouring Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over the weekend, the health authorities in the twin cities have started inspecting and stocking up on oxygen as the influx of pandemic patients increases.
In this regard, sources in different health institutions of the twin cities said that they have enhanced availability of oxygen in health facilities dealing with a large influx of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) patients.
The biggest procurement in this regard has been made by the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Kidney Transplant (RIUKT) - a facility dedicated for Covid-19 patients during the pandemic, which has stocked some 300 oxygen cylinders.
The institute has 170 beds connected to cylinders - including 72 of which are currently occupied by Covid-19 patients - and does not have a large centralised vacuum insulated evaporator oxygen tank.
Last week, it had emerged that as many as 13 patients had to be transferred from the facility due to a shortage of oxygen. Of these, at least three had died.
To cater to current demand as well as anticipated demand following the surge of virus cases under the second wave which saw 122 new cases confirmed in the city on Tuesday with seven associated deaths. Data shared by the district administration showed that 111 patients were from Rawalpindi district while the remaining 11 hailed from other districts of the division.
In Murree, it said that 31 cases were reported from Potohar Town, 26 from Rawalpindi Cantt, 37 from Rawal Town, six from Murree, five from Taxila, and one each from Kahuta, Kallar Sayedan and Gujjar Khan.
Moreover, The Express Tribune has learnt that the three allied hospitals in Rawalpindi are currently at 60 per cent occupancy for Covid-19 patients.
The district and provincial health administration have thus far resisted requests for additional facilities and staff in these three hospitals including the Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), Holy Family Hospital (HFH), and the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ).
Meanwhile, the Punjab government has formed a committee to ensure the provision of oxygen in all public healthcare facilities.
When asked about a plan to cater to the rising number of cases, Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr Muhammad Umar said that those plans are shaped after reviewing the emerging situation surrounding Covid-19 and capacity in the allied hospitals.
Cases increase
Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases continued to surge in the federal capital with 245 people testing positive on Tuesday, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) said.
An NCOC official said that so far, a total of 33,061 Covid-19 cases have been reported from the Islamabad Capital Territory with 341 associated deaths. Of these, some 26,603 patients have made a complete recovery.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 9th, 2020.