‘Unsafe foods’: At BBH, nursing students in need of nurses

As many as 45 patients brought to the emergency ward.

ISLAMABAD:

As many as 45 nursing students of Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) were brought to the hospital’s emergency ward after showing symptoms of severe food poisoning.

According to BBH Medical Registrar Dr Umer Saeed, the first case was received on Thursday at around 12pm. However, the number of patients rose to 45, out of whom 42 were admitted at the time this report was filed. All the patients were suffering from stomachaches, diarrhoea, vomiting and high fever. However, most of them are in stable condition and only one patient has suffered from bouts of high fever.

The patients believe they fell ill after having daal and paratha from the nursing hostel’s cafeteria, but contaminated water is also believed to a possible cause of the incident.

According to Dr Saeed, there is a possibility of drinking water being mixed up with sewerage, making it toxic for consumption.

The water samples and stool tests of patients have been sent to the laboratory for investigations and a three-member committee has been constituted by the Rawalpindi Medical College Principal Dr Muhammad Musaddaq Khan to probe the incident.

One of the nurses, who wished not to be named, said there is no mechanism for potable water supply in the hospital or the hostel, adding that all drinking water comes directly from taps without going through any filtration process.

“Even though cases of gastrointestinal infections surface from time to time, this is the first time such a huge number of nurses have fallen ill at the same time,” she explained.

She said the hostelites pay Rs2,000 per month to the cafeteria but there is no quality check on the condition of food served to them.

Punjab Young Doctors Association, while condemning the incident, said the incident has exposed the government’s sheer negligence in supplying hygienic food and potable water to nursing students. BBH Medical Superintended Dr Asif Qadir Mir was unavailable for comments.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2012.