OPDs, main OTs in Pindi’s allied hospitals to remain closed

Rawalpindi: The outpatient departments and main operation theatres at the allied hospitals shall remain closed from Friday to Monday (September 1 to September 4) in connection with Eidul Azha however, Accident and Emergency departments and emergency OTs of all the three teaching hospitals would be operational as per routine.

During Eid holidays, the emergency departments of the allied hospitals including Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Holy Family Hospital and District Headquarters Hospital would also serve as the OPDs and would accommodate the OPD patients visiting the hospitals.

The administrations of Rawalpindi Medical University and the allied hospitals claimed to have prepared duty rosters of the staff to be on duty at the hospitals during Eid holidays. The OPDs and main OTs at the allied hospitals shall not operate from Friday to Monday however the allied hospitals would be operational during Eid holidays for emergency and indoor patients and special arrangements have been made to further strengthen the emergency departments, said Vice Chancellor at RMU and Chief Allied Hospitals Professor Dr. Mohammad Umar while talking to ‘The News’ on Wednesday.

He added that the administrations of the allied hospitals have already prepared and circulated duty rosters of the staff including doctors, paramedics and nursing staff for Eid days. It is important that the emergency departments of the allied hospitals receive significantly heavy influx of patients during Eid holidays every year mainly because most of the hospitals and clinics operating in private sector in town do not offer their services on Eid days.

Dr. Umar said that according to policy, senior registrar level doctors would remain available in all departments of the allied hospitals while consultants including professors would remain on call during Eid holidays from Friday to Monday.

It is worth mentioning here that every year on Eidul Azha and Eidul Fitr, the bed occupancy in wards of the allied hospitals becomes less than 50 per cent as almost all stable patients leave the hospitals to spend Eid days with their dear ones at homes.

“A good number of in-ward stable patients who want to spend Eid holidays with their families would be allowed to leave hospitals however, serious patients would remain admitted in their respective wards and would be attended as per requirement,” said Additional medical Superintendent (Administration) Dr. Tariq Masood Niazi while talking to ‘The News’.

He said the main OTs and OPDs at the allied hospitals would not function from Friday to Monday however, in case of God forbid any bigger emergency, the main OTs of the hospitals may be made operational during Eid days.

The main medical stores of the allied hospitals would remain closed during Eid holidays however the hospitals claimed to have arranged sufficient quantity of medicines for emergency departments.

It is also important that the allied hospitals have been following disaster management plan under which sufficient number of emergency kits remain available to the emergency departments on Eid days.