Surgeries cancelled at govt hospitals

Public healthcare facilities are surrounded by stagnant water after the deluge on Tuesday.

Owing to heavy downpour on Tuesday, many scheduled surgeries were canceled at government hospitals as well as the OPD clinics. Staff attendance also remained low due to forecasts of further heavy rainfall.

The streets around Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital were inundated with sewage and rainwater. Similar conditions were reported around the Trauma Centre and SIUT on Chand Bibi Road, where rainwater mixed with sewage created large pools.

Civil Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Khalid Bukhari said that overflowing sewerage lines caused water to accumulate outside the hospital, though efforts were being made by the relevant authorities to clear it. He added that water inside the hospital premises had already been drained.

Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre also suffered severe flooding both inside and around its premises due to heavy rain and overflowing sewerage lines.

National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), National Institute of Child Health (NICH), and JPMC are located on Rafiqui Shaheed Road as well as Pakistan's largest EPI vaccine cold chain storage. This vital road was inundated for over 24 hours. Officials said dewatering work had begun.

Other government hospitals, including Sobhraj, Abbasi Shaheed, Liaquatabad, Saudabad, and Korangi, were also flooded. Accumulated rainwater outside the public health facilities created difficulties for thousands of patients visiting hospitals on Wednesday.

Hundreds of scheduled operations had to be cancelled, although emergency surgeries were carried out. Meanwhile, staff attendance also remained low due to forecasts of further heavy rainfall.