Holy Family to close for four months

The Holy Family Hospital (HFH), Rawalpindi’s large public sector healthcare facility, will be shut for four months during which it will undergo maintenance as part of a Rs2 billion project for improvements at some of the oldest hospitals in the province.

The HFH dates back to 1943 with its old as well as new buildings being dilapidated and in desperate need of repair.

Staff, patients and attendants at the hospital complained about leaky roofs and broken walls, while most of the departments presented a sorry picture.

The hospital with 1,100 beds is the largest public healthcare facility in the garrison city and witnessed a high footfall of patients.

Rawalpindi Medical University Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Umar said that patients from not only Rawalpindi but also Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seek treatment at the hospital. He said the influx of patients had overburdened the hospital and it remained in desperate need of upkeep and civil works maintenance. He said the roofs of the hospital's new and old buildings were leaking water.

Despite multiple reports regarding the hospital's need for repairs, the Punjab government failed to take any notice. The outpatient department (OPD), emergency ward, operation theatres as well as various wards and washrooms remain in a deplorable state and comprise the hospital’s ability to deliver an acceptable level of service.

The amount of hygiene required for patients is insufficient because of the old floors, which allows diseases to spread, said Prof Umar. The water supply system is malfunctioning, the bathrooms leak, and the sewage system is ineffective, he pointed out.

Now, as part of the project initiated by Punjab’s caretaker chief minister, Mohsin Naqvi, the hospital’s buildings will be repaired, refurbished and revamped. As a result of this project, the HFH building would undergo thorough maintenance and reconstruction.

Rawalpindi Commissioner Liaqat Ali Chattha has been designated as the project director for the project. A committee has been formed to develop the refurbishment plan after which work would begin in earnest.

During the four months in which renovations and reconstruction would take place, portions of the hospital would be entirely closed. It wasn’t immediately clear which sections of the hospital would be kept functional.

Sources privy to developments said that the plans included temporary relocation of patients for that duration to the four major hospitals in Rawalpindi. They include the Benazir Bhutto General Hospital, the Red Crescent Hospital, the District Headquarters Hospital, and the Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIUT).

Following the repair and reconstruction, the hospital would get new beds, while the 15 operating rooms, the emergency department, OPD wards and others would be completely renovated. The plan also includes provision of clean drinking water for patients.

The RMU vice chancellor said that the hospital would be entirely shut down after maintenance and repair work starts before adding that a ‘final decision’ in that regard would be taken soon. It would reopen once the building has undergone full maintenance and repair, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2023.