Health minister reviews dengue treatment at HFH

Rawalpindi : Provincial Minister of Punjab for Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Dr. Khawaja Salman Rafique visited the Department of Infectious Diseases here at Holy Family Hospital on Friday where he met with the dengue fever patients undergoing treatment at the dengue ward of the hospital.

The Punjab health minister reviewed and discussed arrangements with the staff at Rawalpindi Medical College and HFH to facilitate dengue fever patients while inquired about the functioning of the departments in the New Block of the HFH that had been handed over to the hospital administration last month.

The RMC and hospital administration briefed the minister about the small jobs which are yet to be done in various departments including Plastic Surgery Department and dialysis unit at the nephrology department of the hospital. The minister was informed that work on the air conditioning system at the new block is yet to be finalized.

The health minister directed the concerned staff at the Communication and Works Department of the Government of the Punjab to release funds to the company working on air handling units of the hospital, said Principal RMC and In-Charge allied hospitals Professor Dr. Jahangir Sarwar Khan while talking to ‘The News’. The company has assured the hospital administration that the air handling units would be functional within the next week.

He added that the minister was informed that the burn unit at the Plastic Surgery Department is yet to be functional as the work on operation theatre and ward has not been finalized as yet. The minister assured the hospital administration of his full support in making the departments fully functional at the earliest, said Professor Jahangir.

It is important to mention that out of a total of 15 dialysis machines, eight are working at present. The hospital administration is working on making all the machines at the dialysis unit operational, said Principal RMC.

The health minister, after visiting the dengue fever ward, held a meeting with the concerned administrative and clinical staff on dengue fever management and other stakeholders to review the arrangements required to deal with the extraordinary burden of dengue fever patients. Expressing satisfaction, the minister applauded the efforts of the staff directing the administration to continue providing the same level of health care to all dengue fever patients and provide all possible medical care and treatment free of cost.

It is important to mention here that well over 50 per cent of the patients being tested positive for dengue fever from the federal capital visited the allied hospitals particularly HFH for dengue fever management.