Health minister visits hospitals, reviews dengue controle measures

Rawalpindi : Provincial Minister of Punjab for primary and secondary healthcare, and Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Dr. Yasmin Rashid visited dengue management units at the three allied hospitals here in town on Monday while reviewed and discussed arrangements with the staff at Rawalpindi Medical University and allied hospitals to facilitate dengue fever patients.

“It was a pleasure to visit dengue management units in all three hospitals. The clinical and administrative staff is working hard 24 hours of the day to give the best possible facilities. Please keep up the good work, we are proud of you. Hats off to the VC (RMU) for making it,” stated the minister in written form at RMU office.

Vice Chancellor of Rawalpindi Medical University Professor Dr. Muhammad Umar accompanied the minister during her visits to the allied hospitals. After visit, the minister held a meeting with VC, concerned administrative and clinical staff on dengue fever management and other stakeholders to review the arrangements required to deal with extraordinary burden of dengue fever patients.

While expressing satisfaction, the minister applauded the efforts of staff directing hospitals to continue providing the same level of health care to all dengue fever patients and provide all possible medical care and treatment free of cost, said Medical Superintendent at Benazir Bhutto Hospital Dr. Rafiq Ahmed while talking to ‘The News’ on Monday.

In the meeting, the minister assured the RMU administration and allied hospitals that it would provide all possible support to the hospitals to accommodate the continuously increasing load of dengue fever patients.

The minister said that services of additional doctors would be provided to the RMU and allied hospitals from other districts which are not facing threat of dengue fever spread and she would work for establishment of a 100 bedded hospital especially for dengue fever management and make it for referral point, said Professor Umar while talking to ‘The News’.

He said he informed the minister that nearly 25 to 30 per cent of all confirmed patients of dengue fever reaching allied hospitals are residents of the federal capital. He said the minister has already directed to hand over Red Crescent Hospital to the RMU to facilitate additional burden of dengue fever patients.

He said he informed the minister that the RMU needs additional staff and necessary equipment particularly for screening of patients on which the minister assured she would work out plans to arrange that. The minister directed the primary and secondary healthcare department to provide all possible support to the allied hospitals, said Professor Umar.

It is important that in last 48 hours, the allied hospitals have tested as many as 234 patients positive for dengue fever that has taken the total number of patients registered with the three hospitals to 1483. On Monday, as many as 370 patients were undergoing treatment at dengue management wards at the allied hospitals that have started facing issue of shortage of space to accommodate patients.

We have started utilizing beds in other departments but still the situation is under control. If the surge in dengue fever patients continues, in a few days, the patients’ burden may not be manageable at the allied hospitals, said Head of Department of Infectious Diseases at Holy Family Hospital Dr. Muhammad Mujeeb Khan while talking to ‘The News’.