Call to resolve Basic Health Units’ issues

LAHORE

citizens and community representatives have drawn government’s attention towards the sorry state of affairs at primary health units in Lahore district, which calls for urgent action to resolve the issues at Basic Health Units (BHUs) in suburbs of Lahore.

“The health authorities are unaware of real issues of BHUs on ground as district health officials are not bothered to citizen feedback and not keen to attend citizen’s forums,” said Anjuman Sheheryan Chairman addressing an District Advocacy Forum held here at a local hotel on Thursday.

Citizens from different walks of life and community representatives from suburban union councils shared their issues.

It was alleged that Lakhoki BHU was occupied by police transforming it into a police picket displaying signboard of a police chowki instead of BHU.Tajammal Hussain Awan presented cumulative issues citizen face and identified by 30 community groups from BHUs across the districts ranging from dismantling boundary walls, deteriorating building structures, partial supplies of medicines and accessories, out of order UPS and health staff behaviour issues. Communities also demanded facilities of ultrasound, provision of basic laboratory tests, issue of separate waiting areas and bathrooms for women. Few BHUs don’t have safe and privacy for delivery rooms. Separate feeding areas were demanded by community representatives.

Saeed Kailvi responded to the issues and shared the progress and improvement made in the services. Dr Akhtar Rashid appreciated the participants for endeavouring for marginalised groups to improve basic health units through constructive engagement with duty bearers. 

incineration: A centralised incineration system would be set up for disposing of harmful waste of hospitals of Lahore, for this purpose, the incinerator of Children Hospital would be operated to its full capacity.

This was decided in a meeting chaired by Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah, according to a handout issued here on Thursday.

Children Hospital Medical Director Prof Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathore and Health Department Procurement Specialist Tayyib Farid were also present.

The meeting was informed that at present the incinerator of Children Hospital was disposing of 500 kg hospital waste per day, whereas, its capacity was to incinerate 200 kg waste per hour.

Health  Secretary Najam Ahmed Shah directed the engineers of the firm concerned to make arrangements to run the incinerator at full capacity. He directed that repair and maintenance work of the incinerator should immediately be completed so it could be made operational according to its capacity with a view to dispose of harmful waste of other hospitals of Lahore.

Najam Ahmed Shah directed formulation of a foolproof checking and monitoring system for the collection and disposal of hospital waste according to the SOPs of hospital waste management.

He directed monitoring to check theft of hospital waste. He directed that initially Lahore General Hospital should be taken on board for hospital waste management and gradually other hospitals would also be taken into the centralised system of incineration.

He said that the option of outsourcing the process of collection of hospitals waste from the different hospitals and its transportation to the incinerator of Children Hospital also be considered.