Daily Times

It seems slight increase in the number of dengue fever patients gradually terming all tall claims by health authorities for providing best facilities to tackle such patients as baseless, as the second big hospital in the capital is facing “acute shortage of kits of tests of dengue fever,” Daily Times has learnt reliably.

Well informed sources told this scribe that the Federal Government Polyclinic Hospital (FGPH) is running with a shortage of the dengue testing kits forcing the visiting or admitted patients of the hospital to conduct the test privately. “Currently, the pathology department of the hospital has no testing kit,” said a doctor privy to the issue while wishing anonymity.

As per statistics released by District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia, 34 new confirmed cases of dengue fever reported in different public sector hospitals of the city with 21 from rural areas and 13 from urban settings.

According to the data, total 2586 cases of dengue fever had been confirmed so for in this season wherein 1534 such patients were from rural areas and 1052 from urban areas of the capital.

“Around 40 patients with dengue fever are under treatment at the FGPH” another doctor working with some relevant section in the hospital said on the condition of anonymity. He, however, highlighted that the doctors and other supporting staffers at the hospital tried their best to give better treatment to the patients as much as they could within available resources.

The available information stated that a separate “so-called dengue ward” was set up at the hospital to entertain exclusively the dengue’s patients but as the burden of patients increased, the ward has been mixed with other patients as well. Instead of keeping separate from other patients, they are being treated in the same ward. Doctors termed this highly risky for other patients. However, “Mosquito nets were provided to each admitted patient.”

Despite repeated attempts, Hospital Executive Director (ED) Dr I U Baig was not available for comments.

The FGPH is an attached entity of the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS). When contacted NHS Spokesperson Sajid Shah denied the facts, saying that an ample number of the kits available at each federal government hospital. “As per the monitoring report of our ministry, everything is fine”, he claimed, adding that dozens of patients are being treated after being diagnosed with dengue fever at the hospital.

When the Spokesperson was informed about available information he said “as per my knowledge not a single case of such kits’ shortage came on surface in any hospital of the capital.”

Initially, the FGPH was established to entertain only federal government employees. Thereafter, it has been allowed to treat every citizen for emergency and Outpatient Department. Currently, approximately 3000 to 4000 patients visit this hospital on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, the officials of the health department, Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), and several assistant commissioners are thoroughly inspecting dengue hotspot areas in the city. The sanitation directorate of MCI also carried out a cleanliness drive at various localities.