Government hospitals in the city discharged many patients over the last couple of days as a large number of doctors and nurses have left for their hometowns to celebrate Eid.

The Punjab government has announced three holidays – from August 20 to 22 – for the Eid while Sunday’s holiday made it a four-day vacation.

The relatives of the patients said that the hospitals had discharged the patients as doctors would not be available during the Eid holidays. Like many patients, a female patient Azra, was discharged from Jinnah Hospital a few days after she was admitted though she was yet to recover from jaundice. “Doctors have said that, during the Eid vacation, they would not be available at the hospital,” said Fatima. “They have asked me to come back on August 23 for admission.”

Early Sunday, the doctors at Lady Wellington Hospital discharged a female patient, who suffered excessive bleeding after giving birth to a child through the C-section operation. “The on duty doctors discharged my wife at midday and asked us to come back after Eid holidays,” said her husband.

However, the hospitals authorities said that they only discharged stable patients but many of the patients took the discharge order on their own. They said that they had prepared Eid-rosters and fixed duties of doctors, nurses and other staff in three shifts to cover the absence of their colleagues during Eid holidays in order to provide treatment to the patients without interruption. Besides, they said that senior doctors and professors would also be available on call to deal with serious patients. Furthermore they said that they had also made contingency plan to handle any untoward incident or disease outbreak like dengue during the Eid holidays.

The Outdoor Patient Departments (OPDs) in government hospitals shall remain closed during the Eid holidays, while minor operations would not be conducted for the next three days. The hospital officials said the number of patients usually fell significantly during the Eid vacations.

At the Punjab Institute of Cardiology, the doctors informed that angiogram and scheduled operations would remain suspended for the next three days. The doctors said that permanent pacemakers would remain suspended during Eid holidays, however emergency vascular surgery and temporary pacemaker setting would continue during the holidays.

“Many patients, who did not recover completely, wanted to leave the hospital to celebrate the Eid with their dear ones,” said a DMS in Lahore General Hospital, adding that, “In that case we issued discharge slip with their consent.”

The doctors at the Services Hospital informed that a great rush of patients was expected at emergency unit and the casualty ward during the Eid holidays. “‘We have taken all measures to handle the rush of the patients at the emergency,” they said. However, the private hospitals are expected to cater to the patients, who would be denied treatment at public sector hospitals, therefore increasing their business during the Eid holidays.