PIMS patients seethe at faulty cooling

Hospital denies claim that four heatstroke patients died in two days

ISLAMABAD:

Patients and their families visiting the largest hospital in the federal capital are facing difficulties due to the malfunctioning air conditioning system for the past several months.

To draw the attention of authorities concerned about the issue, the Young Doctor Association (YDA) held a protest in front of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Hospital's administrative block.

In the wake of the protest, Federal Health Minister Qadir Patel made an emergency visit to the facility and reprimanded the individual in charge of the cooling system. He issued strict instructions to the engineer to work without an air conditioner from 11am to 4pm.

Despite issuing advisories to prevent extreme heat-related incidents, the Ministry of Health has failed to provide clear instructions to government hospitals in Islamabad on dealing with heat waves and improving administrative matters.

The failure of the air conditioning system at Pims has caused significant difficulties for doctors and patients, sources said. The heatwave and extreme temperatures have exacerbated existing conditions among the patients.

Multiple departments, including emergency, ICU, surgical and medical, are facing challenges with hundreds of admitted patients.

Sources revealed that ten heatstroke patients were admitted to the hospital in the past two days, with four of them tragically losing their lives. Among the deceased were four labourers who succumbed to heatstroke.

Five heatstroke patients are currently receiving medical care in the hospital's medical ward.

According to sources, the condition of several patients brought to the emergency room has worsened due to the malfunctioning cooling system.

Responding to the situation, Dr Mubashhir Daha, the spokesperson for the acting executive director of Pims, stated that no deaths attributed to heatstroke had been reported within the hospital.

The four deceased individuals were brought to Pims by the district administration, and there were concerns that they may have suffered from heatstroke, he said. The Pims management is making efforts to provide all necessary healthcare facilities to the patients, he added.

Pims Acting Executive Director Dr Imran Sikandar said that the hospital's air conditioning system was undergoing an upgrade. New air conditioners were being installed and the Public Works Department (PWD) had given a deadline of June 30 to complete the project, he added.

Given the high patient load, the hospital is working diligently to improve the cooling system and enhance convenience for the public, he continued. “As per the health minister's instructions, nine large air conditioners have been installed urgently in the new emergency department.”

Earlier, the health minister conducted an emergency visit to PIMS to address the cooling system breakdown. The executive director provided a briefing on the matter upon which the health minister ordered the immediate installation of new air conditioning systems within 24 hours.

Patel expressed his concern over the project's delay caused by PWD and stated that the upgraded cooling system should be implemented urgently. He highlighted the increasing patient load at PIMS, with people traveling from far-flung regions such as KPK, Azad Jammu Kashmir, and Gilgit-Baltistan for medical treatment.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2023.