Health minister promises addressing shortage of space at BBH

Rawalpindi : Provincial Minister of Punjab for primary and secondary healthcare, and specialised healthcare and medical education Dr. Yasmin Rashid paid a surprise visit to Benazir Bhutto Hospital and then visited Holy Family Hospital here on Wednesday.

During her visit to the BBH, she witnessed extraordinary load of patients in wards where two to three patients were accommodated on a single bed due to extreme shortage of space, the hospital has been facing for years.

Vice Chancellor of Rawalpindi Medical University Professor Dr. Muhammad Umar was also accompanying the minister who pointed out unnecessary use of cell phones by doctors on duty while saying the use of cell phones by doctors in the hospitals premises should not be allowed.

The minister visited emergency department of the hospital along with paediatrics department, outpatient department and gynaecology and obstetrics department.

She showed resentment over poor condition of cleanliness in departments particularly the gynaecology department and expressed deep concern over shortage of space and disorganized working in wards.

The minister asked the medical superintendent at BBH Dr. Khalid Randhawa to prepare a plan to deal with the extraordinary load of patients at the hospital. She said her office would look into the matter of shortage of space at the hospital on urgent basis while asking the hospital administration to facilitate properly all patients reaching the hospital.

She asked the hospital administration and consultants to improve quality of services being rendered to the patients at the hospital.

After visiting BBH, the health minister went to HFH where she paid visits to main emergency department, paediatrics emergency department and gynaecology emergency ward.

Dr. Yasmin Rashid witnessed the burden of patients at the emergency departments at the HFH and expressed to the hospital administration that her office would take up issue of shortage of space and cleanliness on priority basis.