Littlest patients: Polyclinic gets its first pediatric ICU

In addition to the two-bed ICU, the 35-bed paediatric department has also been renovated.

ISLAMABAD: Almost 49 years after its establishment, the capital’s second largest hospital, Polyclinic, got its first paediatric intensive care unit (ICU) on Friday.

The two-bed paediatric ICU has been established in collaboration with the Turkish International Cooperation and Development Agency (Tika) who has also renovated the 35-bed paediatric department of the hospital.

Turkish Ambassador Sadik Babür Girgin on Friday inaugurated the renovated paediatric department and the new ICU.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Polyclinic spokesperson Dr Tanveer Malik said the Turkish government has also donated two ventilators and air conditioners for the ICU.

“This ICU was the need of the hour as earlier, the hospital administration had to refer critical children to other hospitals,” he said, adding that children under 13 will be admitted to this ICU.

“We are trying to add two more beds to the ICU so that we can accommodate more children,” he said.

Meanwhile, a paediatrician in the hospital who wished not to be named said the idea of establishing a paediatric ICU had been floated several times, but to no avail.

“Being a doctor, it becomes difficult for us to ask parents to take their children to other hospitals because of the lack of an ICU,” he said.

Previously, the Children’s Hospital at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) was the only facility with a paediatric ICU. As a result, the units is usually working past its capacity, said the doctor.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 21^st, 2015.