‘Healthy people, healthy nation’: Vital machines remain out of order at public hospitals

Health dept report submitted in K-P Assembly reveals unhealthy state of affairs in six district hospitals.

PESHAWAR:

Essential medical equipment worth millions of rupees is lying dysfunctional in public hospitals of at least six districts of the province.

Data recently submitted to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Assembly revealed dysfunctional machinery at District Headquarters (DHQ) hospitals of Mansehra, Nowshera, Shangla, Kohat, Haripur, and Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Teaching Hospital, Abbottabad.



The list of hospitals was submitted in response to Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl lawmaker Mufti Syed Janan’s query about the state of medical machinery at district and tehsil headquarters hospitals.

According to the documents, an X-ray machine worth Rs0.2 million, an ultrasound machine worth Rs0.18 million and two electrocardiography (ECG) machines of Rs50,000 each are lying dysfunctional at Shah Abdullah Teaching Hospital, Mansehra.

At DHQ Hospital Nowshera, four X-ray machines worth Rs4 million, an exercise tolerance test (ETT) machine worth Rs0.8 million and an ECG machine worth Rs0.4 million remain out of order.

Similarly, six cardiac monitors, a ventilator, three large sterilisers, and dialysis, ultrasound and anesthesia machines are defective at DHQ Hospital Shangla. Moreover, physiotherapy and autoclave machines, a colposcope, generator, X-ray film dryer and section machine are lying unused due to a shortage of staff.

The report further stated the surgical and orthopedic sections of DHQ Kohat Teaching Hospital’s operation theatre (OT) are not functional. Two autoclaves, one bone drill, a diathermy machine, an orthopedic OT table, a cystoscope, a generator, four laryngoscopes, an anesthesia machine, a ventilator, an oxygen concentrator and an image intensifier worth a total of Rs5 million are also out of order.

Moreover, in the hospital’s ENT unit, two head lights, two bronchoscopes, two suction machines, two autoclaves and a microscope are non-functional. The total cost of all these machines is Rs2.8 million.  A holter monitor, defibrillator and the ECG, EET and X-ray machines have been rusting away for several years as they are not in working condition.



Several other essential machines in the dental unit, main store, laboratory and dialysis unit are lying dysfunctional at DHQ Kohat Teaching Hospital.

The report also revealed 30 machines used for various purposes at DHQ Hospital Haripur are in need of repair.

At the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Teaching Hospital Abbottabad, X-ray, ultrasound and dialysis machines have not been in use for several years as they do not work.

In response, Minister for Health Shaukat Yousafzai told lawmakers the provincial government was starting the overhaul of hospitals from scratch and will soon provide data for all hospitals of the province. He said the health department had no record of the total number of doctors in K-P.

The government is streamlining health affairs of the province which will materialise in due time, claimed Yousafzai.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13^th, 2014.