Infectious diseases ward at HFH reduced to 26 bedded facility

Rawalpindi : The Department of Infectious Diseases here at Holy Family Hospital has been reduced to 26-bedded ward from 70-bedded ward while 8-bedded high dependency unit developed for the DID has also been taken away from the department.

In the second week of January this year, after the prime minister’s visit to Holy Family Hospital, the 70-bedded ward of DID was given to the paediatrics department of the hospital to solve the problem of shortage of space. However later the DID was given 13 rooms each having two beds to cater to the needs of patients reaching hospital with infectious diseases mainly with influenza A H1N1 in last one-and-a-half months.

The HFH received significant number of patients with influenza A H1N1, commonly known as seasonal flu, in January after which the DID was given 13 rooms belonging to private ward of the hospital though the 8-bedded HDU has not been handed over to the DID so far, said a top official serving at the HFH who wanted his name not to be published.

It is important that after severe nature of dengue fever outbreaks occurred in town, the RMC administration in August 2014 under the supervision of the then RMC Principal Professor Dr. Muhammad Umar planned to establish a complete infectious diseases department that got operational in 2015.

The DID established specifically to provide treatment to patients with any of the communicable diseases like dengue fever, Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, Swine Flu and Multi-drug Resistant Tuberculosis was the first department of infectious diseases established in public sector in Pakistan.

Now after the seasonal close of influenza A H1N1, the DID is receiving cases of viral infections, MDR TB and other like infections, said the official.

He said in case the dengue fever outbreak hits population in town this year too, the 26 beds presently acquired by the DID would not be sufficient to deal with the burden of patients.

It is worth mentioning here that the DID had to manage 150 to 200 patients in its ward in the peak season of dengue fever transmission.

Many health experts have already expressed dissatisfaction over the decision of reduction of DID ward as the infectious diseases department had been catering to the needs of the region as well as the country to a large extent as it had isolation facilities and treatment modalities including HDU for patients of H1N1, dengue fever, TB and CCHF.

The DID had also been providing treatment to patients referred from or presented from AJK while served the federal capital as well particularly during dengue fever outbreaks in the past because the DID at HFH was considered as the best healthcare set-up for management of dengue fever and like diseases.