Daily Times

The authorities of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU) on Tuesday reviewed the existing facilities for Covid-19 patients after several positive cases were reported in the home district of martyred Bhutto leaders.

The meeting was presided over by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Aneela Attaur Rahman which was participated by faculty members and other officers.

It was decided that the High Dependency Unit (HDU) will soon be made functional and the Health Secretary will be written a detailed letter to accomplish all its requirements. The Nursing Hostel of Areeja Campus will be converted into a quarantine centre and facilities there will be provided by the Medical Superintendent, Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), District Health Officer and Deputy Commissioner. Duties of all anesthesia and post-graduate doctors have been fixed at the ICU with immediate effect.

It was further decided to shift the existing Covid Vaccination Centre from ICU to the Radiology Department located at the Civil Hospital Block of the CMCH. It was also decided in the meeting that all hostels of the university’s institutions will be vacated and online classes will start from 27th May.

Decisions of the government of cutting the staff to 50% will also be fully implemented. All University staff have been directed not to leave headquarters without prior permission. The VC appealed to the people not to leave their homes until and unless necessary, fully implement SOPs and save your precious life and that of your loved ones.

Credible sources said that 67-bed HDU cannot be run on oxygen cylinders and it required allocation and release of proper funds to establish an oxygen generation plant for which the former CMCH Medical Superintendent had written letters to the Health Department but nothing has yet been done despite emergency-like situations.