Heatwave deaths: ‘Major hospitals can only treat 50 patients at a time’

Doctor says private hospitals close doors on patients as they have been built to 'generate money'

KARACHI: Public hospitals in the provincial capital are incapable of tackling the situation in case of a natural calamity as the major ones can only treat 50 patients at a time.

Dr Tipu Sultan, the former president of the Pakistan Medical Association, said this while addressing civil society activists in a discussion on 'Heatwave, Deaths and Capacity of Hospitals in Emergencies'. The discussion was organised by the Urban Resource Centre (URC) on Wednesday.



Dr Sultan further criticised the role of private hospitals during the heatwave that killed hundreds of people in the city.

"Private hospitals closed their doors on patients," he said. "It is a condemnable and inhumane act. These [private hospitals] have been built to generate money, not to serve people."

According to him, among the many causes of deaths was the lack of awareness among the people. "People were wandering everywhere without taking proper measures during the hot days," he said, adding that the government didn't take the issue seriously.

"The same situation can occur next year, too," he said. "The government should disseminate awareness as [heatwave] treatment is possible at homes as well."

Speaking about the precautionary measures, the doctor said that temperature goes up in several areas of the province such as Dadu and Tharparkar. "But people don't die because of the rising temperature," he said. "They don't go outside. They use water and cover their heads."

Dr Sultan suggested that the provincial government should establish at least one tertiary care hospital in each town of the city so that the burden on the three major hospitals - Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, Civil Hospital, Karachi, and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital - could be reduced.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 6^th, 2015.