Hospitals receive extra burden of patients on Eid days

Rawalpindi: The three teaching hospitals in town received extra burden of patients at their emergency departments during Eid days, from June 16 to June 18 however the influx of patients at outpatients departments of the allied hospitals remained low on Tuesday and Wednesday, after Eid holidays.

Data collected by ‘The News’ has revealed that well over 35 per cent of all patients reaching allied hospitals on Eid days were with complaints of gastroenteritis, commonly known as water and food borne infections or with mild to moderate fever.

The number of trauma cases however remained high from ‘Chand raat’ to the first day of Eid-ul-Fitr mainly because of road traffic accidents involving wheelie activity in town. Majority of patients received by the allied hospitals on Eid holidays were with gastro, diarrhoea, dysentery, vomiting and fever. The allied hospitals also received significant influx of patients with allergy.

The administrations of the allied hospitals claimed to have managed all the patients well during Eid holidays, however, a few patients complained that they had to wait for their turn in long queues.

The allied hospitals have not received extraordinary burden of patients from the first day of Eid to date nor any bigger emergency was reported at the hospital, said Additional Medical Superintendent at Holy Family Hospital Dr. Tariq Masood Niazi while talking to ‘The News’ on Wednesday.

He said the HFH received little extra burden at its emergency department on Eid days mainly because majority of private clinics and general practitioners in town were not providing services to patients during Eid days and the OPDs at the hospitals were not functional.

It is important that the outpatient departments of the allied hospitals remained closed during Eid days and only emergency departments were operational to receive new cases during the holidays.

Emergency department of Benazir Bhutto Hospital received extra ordinary burden of patients from ‘Chand Raat’ to third day of Eid however, the situation remained well under control and no bigger emergency was reported there. Similar was the situation at District Headquarters Hospital that received little extra burden of patients at its emergency department during Eid holidays.