Daily Times

LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education (SH&ME), Khawaja Salman Rafiq has said that Benazir Bhutto Hospital and Holy Family Hospital Rawalpindi are also catering the patients load not only from Rawalpindi but also from Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and adjoining areas of Khyber Pakhtoonkhaw and due to this, the number of patients at times is more than its bad capacity.

The Provincial Minister said that according to the government’s policy no patient is refused to provide treatment facilities and all these facilities are being provided free of cost. That is why, the people of other provinces preferred to approach the hospitals of Punjab for their treatment.

Kh. Salman Rafiq was talking to the Vice Chancellor Rawalpindi Medical University, Prof. Muhammad Umer on telephone to get the details regarding the treatment facilities for the children in the peadiatric ward of Benazir Bhutto Hospital.

Prof. Dr. Muhammad Umer informed the Minister that Peadiatric Ward of Benazir Bhutto Hospital has 102 beds for the patients and 10 additional beds are reserved for mothers of admitted children. However, due to the increase the patients 20-beds extra have been allocated for the children. The Vice Chancellor of the view that due to the cold weather, the seasonal diseases of children increase and patient load is also enhanced accordingly.

However, according to the bed sharing policy, the patients are being managed in other wards where beds are available whenever needed. The hospital administration is trying its best to accommodate extra load in befitting manner by providing additional beds. He said that the doctors and nurses of the hospital are providing best healthcare to these patients.

Kh. Salman Rafiq appreciated the professor of paediatrics and his team including the nurses and lauded their efforts for catering huge load of the patients. Kh. Salman Rafiq directed that all the patients should be provided quality healthcare and accommodated properly.

He further revealed that Government is fully aware of the fact and has taken an initiative to establish a Children Hospital in Rawalpindi just like Lahore and Multan which is the need of the time. Prof. Muhammad Umer also informed that Government has approved a scheme for extension of Paediatric Ward/Nursery at Benazir Bhutto Hospital at a cost of Rs.140 million. It would further enhance the treatment facilities and capacity of the accommodation.

Published in Daily Times, December 4th 2017.