Equipment shortage: Woman dies while being shuttled between hospitals

28-year-old TB patient dies after two hospitals fail to provide a ventilator

ISLAMABAD:

A 28-year-old woman died while being shuttled between hospitals in Rawalpindi after she faced breathing problem on the second day of Eid.

Sana*, a resident of Muslimabad Mohalla near PAF Cinema, was suffering from intestinal tuberculosis. She was rushed to Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) by her family after suffering breathing problems on October 7, her family said.

But to the family’s dismay, the hospital administration told them that the hospital’s ventilators were all in use and she should be taken to another hospital.

Sana, who had been living with a paternal uncle after her parents died a few years ago, was earning her livelihood by stitching clothes.

“On Tuesday evening, she complained about breathing problems and was immediately rushed to BBH, where staff on duty told us that she urgently needed a ventilator but they did not have any available at the time,” said Saira Khan, Sana’s cousin.



Khan said that they rushed Sana* to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) for treatment, but the CMH administration was also short of space and told them that they could not provide a ventilators to a civilian at the time. “Finally, we took her to Holy Family Hospital, but she died on the way to hospital,” said Khan.

BBH Medical Superintendent Dr Asif Qadir Mir claimed that the hospital currently has 10 functioning ventilators.

“There is no shortage of ventilators at the hospital, but when they are all in use, patients are referred to other hospitals,” he said.

On the other hand, a doctor in the BBH emergency ward, who wished not to be named, said they were short of ventilators were relative to the patient load. “Most of the time, we refer critical cases to other hospitals due to the shortage of ventilators,” he said.

“The hospital needs at least 10 more [ventilators] as it is located on a major thoroughfare and most patients are brought here during emergency situations,” he said.

*Name changed to protect identity

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2014.