‘CHK’s new trauma centre to become operational by March’

Karachi

Built at a cost of Rs6 billion, the Civil Hospital Karachi's Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Trauma Centre, inaugurated by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Wednesday, is expected to become functional by March next year.

“The trauma center is expected to be functional by the March next year as the burns unit on the 8th floor is being redesigned,” said Prof Dr Saeed Qureshi, the Medical Superintendent of Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK).

“We also have to complete infection control mechanisms for the new facility. Moreover, we also require trained human resource including doctors, paramedics and hospital management staff to make the trauma centre functional.”

Named after slain former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, the initial cost of the trauma centre in 2005 was estimated to be around Rs1.4 billion. "By the time construction began in 2008, its revised cost was Rs2.2 billion,” said an official of the health department. “But the total cost incurred on its completion is around Rs6 billion, due to the repeated delays and changes in design and inclusion of additional facilities.”

 

What it offers

The completed trauma centre has the capacity of 500 beds and has with state-of-the-art operation theatres and critical care units. The facility is an Integrated Level-1 health facility, the first of its kind in Pakistan, where dozens of surgeries can be carried out at once while hundreds of patients requiring emergency treatment, surgery or intensive care in case of burn wounds would be able to receive medical care under a single roof.

Prof Dr Saeed Qureshi said the structure of the trauma centre was earthquake resistant and also had a helipad on its roof. Most of the floors have central air-conditioning and alternate arrangement for electricity has been made in case of power failures.

“It’s a 15-storey building, plus ground and a basement, where three-and-a-half floors have been reserved for parking 500 cars parking at one time,” said Dr Qureshi. “Half of the 5th floor has been reserved for sterilisation of surgical equipment.”

He said two complete levels of the trauma centre would house emergency medical services with 90 beds with dedicated intensive and critical care units.

“Except for re-transplantation facility which requires re-joining severed limbs, the centre has all kinds of emergency medical care. The reason why we don’t have re-transplantation services is merely because the country doesn’t have any surgeons specialising in this area.”

The 6th floor of the centre will have 10 operation theatres, four of them dedicated only for emergency trauma surgeries while the remaining six will be reserved for routine procedures.

On the 7th floor, a 70-bed critical care unit has been built, said Dr Qureshi, while the 8th floor has been reserved for a state-of-the-art burns unit with an attached 10-bed critical care unit. “This burns unit will work along the one already operating at the Civil hospital,” he said.

The 9th floor of the accident and trauma centre will house an ophthalmology ward with five operation theatres and 70 beds while the 10th floor has been reserved for 70 patients with acute cardiac ailments and will have the facility of conducting angiography and CT scans.

Moreover, the 11th floor of the centre will have a neuro-surgery ward with 70 beds with operation theatres and its dedicated critical care unit while the 12th level will have 70 beds for patients requiring maxio-facial, cardio-thoracic and vascular surgeries.

According to Dr Qureshi, the trauma centre required trained paramedics and alluded that the authorities might consider hiring personnel with advanced training on contract basis since the Civil hospital didn’t have many surgeons or physicians to spare.

“The facility will be managed by an Assistant Medical Superintendent (AMS) under the supervision of MS of Civil hospital,” he said. “But in my opinion, in the long run the government will have to set up a supervisory board to run this huge facility effectively.”

Dr Qureshi suggested hiring trained and qualified persons with experience in hospital management, warning that the trauma centre could not be managed like other public sector hospitals.