Over 90pc equipment in hospitals functional, Punjab tells SC

Islamabad

The government of Punjab on Wednesday informed the Supreme Court that more than 90 percent of medical equipments in the hospitals were in functional status whereas remaining medical equipments were under the routine process of repair and maintenance.

The provincial government filed a concise report in pursuance of the court’s earlier directives in Human Rights Case over alleged gross corruption in supply of oxygen nitrogen gas and theft of medicine from hospitals.

It submitted that a total of 44 teaching hospitals were providing medical service to the patients in the province. The report stated that the provincial government has bifurcated health department in the province into primary & secondary healthcare department and Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department (SH&ME). 

On August 12, a two-member bench of the apex court while hearing the instant matter had sought details from all the provincial law officers pertaining to machinery and other equipments in the District Head Quarters hospitals and their status of being operative and otherwise by (August 18).

In its concise report, the Punjab government submitted that more than 90 percent of medical equipments in the hospitals were in functional status whereas remaining medical equipments were under the routine process of repair and maintenance.

It further submitted that most of the medical equipment with minor faults gets repaired within shortest possible time - in case of major defect, the required parts need to be imported as spare parts of high tech medical equipment are only available with the manufacturers / sole agents.

Similarly, giving the details about status of advanced equipment in the hospitals, the provincial government stated that a total of 512 anesthesia machines were functional whereas 70 were dysfunctional in 44 hospitals of the province. The report added that four from 39 C.T Scan machines were dysfunctional, 26 of 513 dialysis machines were dysfunctional, 75 of 723 ECG machines were dysfunctional, 38 of 269 ultrasonography machines were dysfunctional, 122 of 885 ventilators were dysfunctional, 38 of 258 X-Ray machines were dysfunctional. 

The report however, stated that all the nine MRI machines, and 56 Oxygen & Nitro us Central supply machines were functional in the  44 provincial hospitals.

It was further submitted that all tertiary care hospitals are equipped with the required medical equipment necessary for teaching / training of medical students and treatment of the patients. 

 The Specialised Healthcare & Medical Education Department (SH&ME) has obtained fresh functional status of hospital laboratories and medical equipment from the Chief Executives / Head of Institutions of public sector hospitals under its administrative control in pursuance of the court directives, the report further stated.

 The court was informed that due to extensive load and round the clock usage of medical equipment in hospitals, some of the equipment keep turning out of order and getting repaired by biomedical engineering department of the hospital or by the supplier firms of medical equipment. 

"As per currently received and concluded data, 100% of laboratories of teaching hospitals in Punjab are in working condition”, the report added.

Similarly, the provincial government also provided the court, current status of equipments while attaching a summary sheet with the report about functionality of equipments in laboratories of the hospitals.

The provincial government submitted that Automatic Pipette were 95 percent functional, Blood Cell Separator 100 percent, Blood Gas Analyzer 89 percent, Centrifuge machine 85 percent, Culture Media Pouring System 100 percent, Fully Automated Coagulation Analyzer 95 percent, Hematology Analyzer 3 Part 90 percent, Hematology Analyzer 5 Part 95 percent, Hemoglobin Meter Digital 100 percent, Micro Incubator 95 percent, Plasma Extractor 91 percent, Platelet Rotor 94 percent, Special Chemistry Analyzer 87 percent were functional in 104 laboratories in the province.