Ashura violence: Fresh protest leads to closure of hospital gates

Another dies at DHQ; hospital staff, patients worry as medicine, food supplies dwindle.

ISLAMABAD:

A man injured during the violence in Rawalpindi on 10th of Muharram expired on Monday at District Headqurter Hospital (DHQ).

A surgeon at DHQ who wished not to be named said that a man in his early twenties who was brought to the hospital on Friday with neck and head injury died in the morning.

Sharing details of the injured, he said that around 44 were brought to the hospital, whom five are still admitted to the hospital with firearm injuries, while adding that most of them were not locals.

“They all are madrassa students aged between 15 and 20, and are stable,” he said.

The surgeon further said that after the death of the patient, some people who came along with a delegation led by a wife of a cleric started protesting, due to which all the gates of the hospital which had been reopened on Sunday night were closed again.

“The hospital gates were closed by army personnel. No one is allowed to go out or come, in due to which the hospital is facing an acute shortage of food and medicines.

Doctors are currently using the medicines kept in the store for emergency ward patients,” said surgeon.

He feared that due to shortages of medicines and food, it would be difficult for the hospital to treat patients if any further untoward situation occurred in the city.

Meanwhile talking to The Express Tribune, DHQ Registrar Dr Abbas Malik said the city administration should take special measures to ensure the supply of food and medicines for patients.

“How we are going to treat patients without medicine? There are many serious cases admitted who depend on lifesaving drugs,” he said.

Malik further said that patients are still feeling stressed due to the deployment of soldiers at the hospital. “We all feel like hostages,” he said.

Public hospitals in Islamabad give abandoned looks

Due to the prevailing law and order situation in Rawalpindi, the influx of patients at the capital’s public hospitals remained low, giving them a deserted look on Monday.

Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) Spokesperson Dr Ayesha Eshani, and Polyclinic Hospital Media Coordinator Dr Tanveer Malik both said that the outpatient departments at their hospitals witnessed a significantly lower number of patients.

The former informed that around 60 per cent of the patients usually come from Rawalpindi and the deteriorating situation has kept them away.

“Pims received only one patient who got injured during the sectarian riots, but he too was referred to Holy Family Hospital (HFH) in Rawalpindi,” she added Meanwhile, with the doctors on standby and medicines stock replenished, public hospital in Islamabad have also been put on high alert.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 19^th, 2013.