By by Shahina Maqbool
The Ministry of Health has, in principle, approved the establishment of a new 100-bed emergency and trauma centre with 10 operation theatres and allied facilities at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS). The new facility, which currently awaits financial approval, will be preceded by expansion of the hospital’s existing emergency services at a cost of Rs38 million.
PIMS Executive Director Dr. Abdul Majeed Rajput shared this piece of information at the opening session of the 5th Annual PIMS Symposium here on Thursday. Titled ‘Meeting Health Challenges,’ the symposium had the first ED of PIMS Lieutenant General (r) Ali Masood Akram as the chief guest. Director General Health Dr. Jooma Khan, Additional Secretary Health Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, Dean of Quaid-i-Azam Postgraduate Medical Complex Dr. Wajahat Bangash, faculty members, former EDs and heads of various departments of PIMS attended the session, among other prominent personalities.
Dr. Rajput informed that 20 beds will be added to the existing 40-bed emergencies of the MCH Centre, the Children’s Hospital and the main Islamabad hospital, while the capacity of the mortuary will be doubled to accommodate another 10 corpses. The Rs. 38 million project would be completed in the current fiscal year.
The ED said work on the new 100-bed emergency would start after grant of financial approval for the project. This facility is proposed to have 36 casualty medical officers, five medical emergency response teams, and an independent ambulance service. Dr. Rajput assured that efforts were underway to put in place, quality management and patient safety systems, and to develop clinical management protocols. Similarly, the exercise on outsourcing of security and housekeeping services has also been completed, and currently awaits availability of funds.
In a lengthy presentation, Dr. Rajput shed light on the performance and financial health of the 960-bedded hospital. He started off by sharing year-wise data on patients attended and procedures performed in the cardiology department. In the area of human resource, Dr. Rajput informed that 36 sanctioned posts for doctors, 71 for nurses, 12 for paramedics, and 50 for other staff are lying vacant, taking the total to 169 posts. From a 37 percent deficit in the years 2006-07 and 2007-08, PIMS has braced for a 49.40 percent deficit in the year 2008-09. The hospital got an allocation of Rs1225.487 million as against its demand of Rs2421.250 million.
Dr. Rajput informed that the project for establishment of a Medical Tower at PIMS, which was approved in March 2007 at a cost of Rs2225.00 million including a foreign exchange component of Rs163.02 million, has now been replaced by an alternative PC-1 focusing on improvement of facilities at PIMS. The new PC-1 will cover all the 20 proposed projects at PIMS within the given cost. By doing so, the inpatient beds capacity of surgical and allied specialties would be increased by 56.25% i.e., from 256 beds to 400 beds. In case of medical and allied specialties, the inpatient capacity would increased by 115.83% i.e., from 221 beds to 477 beds, Dr. Rajput told the audience.
Sharing data about bomb blast victims in Islamabad, Dr. Rajput said, during the period between July 17, 2007 to October 10, 2008, as many as 293 victims reported to PIMS, 87 were brought dead, 10 died at PIMS, and 15 are still admitted. The ED also shared details of projects that are being executed, those currently in the pipeline, and others that currently exist on paper only.
Speaking as chief guest, Dr. Akram called for strengthening of health facilities at all levels, both with infrastructure and technological resources, as well as with professionals and supporting social services. He also suggested that PIMS should be transformed into an autonomous facility so that it becomes a financially and administratively independent entity, which need not entertain any kind of interference from the Ministry of Health, as has always been the case.
“We must develop a system which has the confidence and trust of patients,” Dr. Akram said. He touched the pulse of the problem by pointing out that the impatience of patients, who are seen visiting one hospital after the other, and one doctor after the other in search of better care and treatment, shows that they are either not treated and guided properly, or they do not trust the system. He asked why everybody should want to see the top consultant in a top hospital; and why the country’s specialized centres or tertiary care facilities should be overwhelmed by simple problems that can be tackled at the basic healthcare level? In the next breath, he urged that there should be no discrimination in the provision of health services to a common man — be they in the rural or urban areas.
“Care delayed is care denied,” Dr. Akram said, advising doctors that care must not merely be provided, but must also be seen to have been provided. He said, the Pakistani society is falling apart not because of mere physical illnesses but more because of poor social, spiritual and mental approaches to problems. “We must look into these aspects of health,” he suggested, adding “simple life, regular exercise, proper eating habits, sound sleep and contentment are the basic hallmarks of a healthy society.”
The three-day symposium will see 200 papers being presented with 10 pre- and post- symposium workshops and 22 scientific sessions. The event is being seen as a grand opportunity for sharing of knowledge, promotion of research and continuing medical education, and upgrading of skills. While the holding of the symposium is a collective effort, it would be unfair if the efforts of Professor Anwar-ul-Haq, Dr. Minhaj-Us-Siraj and Dr. Waseem Khawaja, who is a great facilitator for the media, went unmentioned. The opening session ended with exchange of mementos and shields among the guests.