Hospitals need funds to maintain lifts

Elevators in several government hospitals in the province are out of order because of shortage of funds for their repair. According to sources, the administrations of big healthcare facilities in Lahore, including Jinnah Hospital, General Hospital and Services Hospital, are waiting for the release of funds for the maintenance work.

Patients are suffering due to unavailability of lifts in the multi-storey buildings of wards and outpatient departments while the hospital administrations complained of shortage of funds for their repair.

Around 10 nursing staff members were injured when a lift collapsed in Mayo Hospital last week. Similar incidents had also taken place in the past. Some staffers alleged that elevators installed in several hospitals had stopped functioning within a few months.

A health department official said that the hospitals were dependent on the Punjab government for releasing funds for installing and repairing the elevators. The issue is more serious in the big hospitals in Lahore and at other major cities having high-rise buildings where a large number of patients are affected.

A senior medical officer at Jinnah Hospital said almost all hospitals were facing shortage of funds and philanthropists were also contributing to maintain the treatment facilities.

"We tried to repair the lifts with the help of philanthropists but still faced shortage of funds required for the purpose," he said.

Health department spokesman Syed Hamad Raza said repair and installation of elevators in the hospitals were under way and most of the lifts were functioning.

He said the specialised healthcare and medical education department was monitoring the matter and ensuring that the patients did not face problems.

He said the department was taking action against the company that had installed the lift involved in the accident in Mayo Hospital.