Pakistan

Needless suffering: Church attack victim admitted to PIMS

Teenager had to wait the entire night for a bed at the burn centre.

Sehrish Wasif September 28, 2013

File photo of the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences in Islamabad. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD:

A teenaged victim of the church bombing in Peshawar had to wait several hours to be provided a bed at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims), adding to her agony.

Shumaila, 13, suffering from 30 per cent burns, was brought to the hospital’s burn centre from Peshawar late Thursday night. The teenager spent the night on a stretcher due to the unavailability of beds, which led her relatives to stage a protest against the hospital administration for ignoring their plight.

“On Friday she was given a bed at 10:30am after the hospital moved a patient from the intensive care unit to another ward,” said an official at the burn centre, requesting anonymity. There is an acute shortage of beds at the centre, therefore, it’s very difficult to admit more patients, said the official. “At present, there are 27 patients in the 18-bed burn centre,” he said, adding that three other Peshawar blast victims are already admitted in the hospital. “Their condition is stable now”.

Pims Spokesperson Dr Ayesha Ishani said the hospital administration is doing its best to accommodate the blast victims coming to the hospital but is helpless due to a shortage of space at the burn centre.

Meanwhile talking to The Express Tribune, Mohammad Hussain, one of Shumaila’s relatives said, “We’re already suffering, please do not make us suffer more by depriving us of much-needed healthcare facilities.” He expressed his anger over the government’s failure to provide necessary healthcare in Peshawar. “The terrorists target us and we lie dying due to the shortage of beds and medicines.”

State Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar visited the Pims burn centre to inquire after the health of the blast victims. The hospital administration informed her that expansion of the centre is the only solution to overcome the beds shortage for which funds were required.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 28^th, 2013.