Sir: Recently, my friend’s relatives were involved in a fire accident and received major burns. It was troubling to see what they had to endure in the crucial hours following the accident. A burn victim, especially of the category these people were in, requires critical care using special and expensive equipment. Also, the patient needs to be under constant supervision of highly trained staff. Sadly, my friend’s relatives were deprived of all this because, first, the number of burn centres in Pakistan is astonishingly low. There are only three proper burn centres in the northern half of Pakistan, located at Kharian, Wah and Islamabad. Second, the burn centres that exist are often short of necessary staff and equipment. The concerned family could not find a burn centre in Peshawar, where the accident took place; and the one nearest to them, in Islamabad, had patients lying in the corridor. To add to their misery, this centre also lacked essential staff members.
What needs to be done is obvious: construct more burn centres; and also effectively manage them. Though the involvement of the private sector would be a good boost, the high cost of equipment and the subsequently high fees of treatment render it a difficult option for most citizens. Here lies an important task for Pakistan’s Ministry of Health: to channel precious funds towards this critical health requirement, especially in this era of frequent bombings.
ZEESHAN MATEEN
Islamabad