Jinnah Hospital unit’s renovation plan termed wastage

LAHORE:The chairman, Department of Orthopaedics, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore, has termed the proposed plan of renovation of the recently-revamped Orthopaedics Unit-I a total waste of money and resources.

The Office of the Medical Superintendent of JHL, in a letter dated 16.01.2024, directed the Orthopaedics Unit-I to shift patients to the Orthopaedics Unit-II under the chief minister’s ongoing contingency plan for revamping.

In response to the MS Office order, Department of Orthopaedics Chairman Prof Dr Sajjad Hussain Goraya has written a letter to the principal, Allama Iqbal Medical College/Jinnah Hospital, Lahore (AIMC/JHL), to reconsider the decision in the interest of patients and save precious money and resources for more important tasks of public good. He informed that the Orthopaedics Unit-I was one or the most sophisticated and state-of-the-art units of the Jinnah Hospital that was recently revamped with the expenditure of millions of rupees. It has now become the most well-equipped and modern Orthopaedics unit all over Punjab. “We also have a state-of-the-art High Dependency Unit (HDU) facility. Due to meticulous infection control measures, our infection rate is almost nil. Aesthetically too, our ward is much better than even those in private hospitals,” he said. In such circumstances, he believed that it would be a total waste of money and resources. “Our precious resources should be spent on appropriate places to get maximum benefit for the public.”

He observed that the decision to shift the ward would also cause unnecessary discomfort to patients. “The Emergency and Orthopaedics Departments of LGH and Services Hospitals are already undergoing revamping, due to which we are catering to a large number of trauma patients well beyond our capacity. Both Orthopaedics units are already packed. This decision will cause a lot of unnecessary trouble to patients,” he said and urged serious consideration to this genuine concern to avoid hindrance in the delivery of care to patients.

AIMC/JHL Principal Prof Dr Ayesha Arif was not available for comments.

Talking to The News, caretaker Minister for Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education (SHC&ME) Prof Dr Javed Akram said the Punjab government had not received the letter of the chairman of Department of Orthopaedics. However, whenever it is received, the SHC&ME Department will conduct a technical evaluation of the Orthopaedics Department in the light of the chairman’s observation. “The government will act accordingly on the recommendation of engineers and other relevant experts in the best public interest,” he said.