Bangash claimed 54 out of 1,000 children in K-P and the adjoining tribal areas die in the first month of their birth. PHOTO: FILE
An increase in the number of beds in the baby care unit will reduce the mortality ratio of children and also help provide better healthcare facilities to the people of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and tribal areas, NSBCU registrar at KTH Dr Hamid Bangash told The Express Tribune.
He informed renovation of the unit, with financial support of Rs6.5 million from the UNCHR, is almost complete and will start operating properly from this month.
Bangash said the 15-bed unit was set up in 1976 to provide tertiary care treatment to seriously ill newborns.
He said NSBCU in KTH is managed by two trainee medical officers, six staff nurses, one registrar and one head nurse, adding every doctor and nurse has to perform 24-hour duties.
“Due to the shortage of space, doctors admit two or three patients per bed, while according to the World Health Organization, beds should be properly spaced to protect infants against infections,” explained Bangash.
Since all hospitals are short of beds, KTH is burdened with more and more patients and healthcare facilities cannot be administered properly, he added.
Bangash claimed 54 out of 1,000 children in K-P and the adjoining tribal areas die in the first month of their birth and reducing this number to 40 by 2015 is in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
KTH Chief Executive Umar Ayub said with an increase in the number of beds and other healthcare facilities, NSBCU will become a one-of-its-kind unit which will provide better healthcare service to the region’s people.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 4th, 2013.
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