Sufferers battle to entry life-saving therapy as essential care infrastructure falls wanting the province’s healt
PESHAWAR:
As Muhammad Owais rushed by way of the corridors of Khyber Instructing Hospital in a determined seek for an intensive care unit (ICU) mattress for his critically unwell mom, each passing minute diminished her possibilities of survival.
Hospital workers instructed him that no ICU beds had been obtainable and that he had no possibility however to attend. Undeterred, Owais went from one division to a different, hoping to discover a answer. However by the point he returned to her bedside, his mom had succumbed to her sickness.
“For years, the federal government has claimed that hospitals are outfitted with all the mandatory services. The place are these services right this moment? Who will reply for my mom’s loss of life?” lambasted Owais.
Owais’ loss highlights a wider healthcare disaster in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the place a inhabitants of greater than 40 million is served by solely round 400 ICU beds in public hospitals – fewer than one ICU mattress for each 100,000 folks.
In accordance with official figures, main hospitals throughout the province have restricted ICU capability. Hayatabad Medical Complicated has 49 ICU beds, Khyber Instructing Hospital 45, whereas Girl Studying Hospital – the province’s largest tertiary-care facility and a key referral centre for main emergencies and bomb blast victims – has solely 34 ICU beds. Ayub Instructing Hospital in Abbottabad has 32 ICU beds, Mardan Medical Complicated 16, and Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complicated in Nowshera simply six.
Talking to The Categorical Tribune, pulmonologist Dr Ehtesham Khan described the state of affairs as alarming.
“That is an especially critical challenge. 4 hundred ICU beds are removed from ample for a province with a inhabitants exceeding 40 million. Primarily based on current healthcare calls for and worldwide requirements, Ok-P ought to have not less than 1,000 ICU beds,” opined Dr Khan.
“When ICU beds are unavailable, many critically unwell sufferers – together with trauma victims, cardiac sufferers, youngsters and others affected by life-threatening circumstances – lose their lives as a result of they can not obtain the intensive care they urgently want,” he stated. He famous that whereas essential care drugs is quickly advancing worldwide, Pakistan continues to face a scarcity of educated specialists.
“Many intensivists favor to work overseas due to higher incentives and dealing circumstances. Establishing an ICU is not only about growing the variety of beds; it additionally requires educated personnel and specialised assets, each of that are in brief provide,” he added.
Dr Khan additionally urged the federal government to develop the Sehat Card programme to cowl ICU therapy at non-public hospitals.
“In non-public hospitals, ICU expenses usually exceed Rs50,000 per day, making essential care unaffordable for poor sufferers,” he emphasised.
Dr Saleem Yousafzai, spokesperson for the Provincial Docs Affiliation, famous that the scarcity extends past intensive care services.
“Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at the moment has 11 instructing hospitals and 32 non-teaching authorities hospitals, but there’s a lack of services not solely in intensive care but additionally in radiology, pathology and a number of other different departments,” he instructed The Categorical Tribune.
He advisable that each instructing hospital within the province ought to have not less than 50 ICU beds, whereas district headquarters hospitals ought to keep a minimal of 20 ICU beds.
Responding to considerations, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Well being Secretary Shahidullah Khan assured that bettering healthcare companies remained the federal government’s high precedence.
“The well being division and the federal government are absolutely conscious of the scarcity of ICU beds in public hospitals,” he stated. He added that the provincial authorities plans to extend the well being finances within the upcoming fiscal yr and intends to double the variety of ICU beds throughout public-sector hospitals. “We’re dedicated to making sure higher healthcare services for the folks of the province,” the well being secretary stated.
