The Chairman, Treatment Committee, COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Dean, Faculty of Medicine & Allied Sciences, Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU), Larkana, Prof. Dr. Hakim Ali Abro, has written a letter to the Medical Superintendent (MS), Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), informing him about the non-functioning of various equipment and instruments in coronavirus ICU along with unavailability of essential facilities including posting of unwilling paramedics due to which deaths are increasing at night time.
In the letter, Prof Abro, has said that “eight ventilators, six monitors and oxygen lining is not working properly”. He said “moreover, paramedical staff working in the COVID-19 ICU are not compliment and are non-willing workers, they refuse Consultant orders and leave ICU before time without permission specially night staff”. He further wrote that “they sleep during duty hours resulting into majority of deaths in night time”, adding, “moreover, the cleanliness situation in the ICU is pathetic and no housekeeping staff is posted permanently leading to further outbreak of coronavirus in health care workers”. Prof. Hakim Abro, further complained in his letter, copies of which have also been sent to the registrar, SMBBMU, deputy commissioner and vice chancellor, that “despite repeated requests, there is no intercom in ICU for communication with inside staff and central monitoring also not yet installed”. He said “ABG machine is still not provided to the COVID-19 ICU and patients are bearing huge cost of investigations from private laboratories, due to lack of lab facilities”.
It must be mentioned here that five patients expired in the COVID-19 ICU since last night out of which four were coronavirus positive and the report of one patient was found negative bringing the number of total deaths at the CMCH COVID-19 ICU to 15.
When this Scribe talked to CMCH MS Dr. Ershad Hussain Kazmi to have his comments over the issue, he said that managing ward and patient management is the job of relevant Head of Departments or Consultants adding if deaths are occurring then they should be held responsible. He said they only know to send letters but practically they do not want to work for the benefit of poor patients adding they just carry out inspection but practically they have done nothing. He said a central monitoring system is not essential but Consultant wants it because he dislikes going inside to the patient and keeps monitoring from outside. Dr. Kazmi said five ABG machines will reach Larkana on Friday which will be given to the ICU but again, he added, who will run them, answering himself, they have to operate them. He asked how 6-bed medicine ICU was previously run without ABG machine? He said COVID positive and negative patients cannot be kept together adding that for them we need a medicine ICU which has been locked by Prof. Hakim Abro since long. He said as far as the allegation of the patients’ bearing investigation expenses is concerned, I have full details which can be made public. He said medicines, equipment, instruments, manpower and PPEs have been provided but despite all that they are not willing to work for the betterment of ailing humanity.
Meanwhile, according to the health department figures, 49 new coronavirus positive cases surfaced in Larkana on Wednesday bringing the total number of coronavirus local transmission cases to 819 till 3rd June, of them 455 have recovered, ten have expired and 354 are active, statistics claimed, which need to be verified from district health authorities.