Surgeries delayed as JPMC without water since Saturday

Dozens of surgeries were postponed and dialysis of a large number of patients could not be carried out at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) on Monday because the supply of water to Karachi’s largest public health facility remained suspended for over 48 hours, officials said.

“The dialysis unit at the JPMC couldn’t operate on Monday morning because water supply to the health facility by the Karachi Water & Sewerage Board [KWSB] remained suspended for over 48 hours. Several surgeries, including those done in emergency, couldn’t be performed due to water shortage,” a JPMC official told The News.

The KWSB supplies 600,000 to 700,000 gallons of water a day to the JPMC, and if water supply to the health facility is suspended, most of the hospital’s operations are suspended, and the administration is forced to postpone surgeries and other procedures and functions in the wards and the emergency department.

The JPMC official said supply of water to the hospital was suspended on Saturday evening, and when they approached the KWSB administration, they were informed that supply to the hospital had been suspended due to repair of a main line supplying water to the Clifton and Defence areas.

“Due to water shortage, dialysis scheduled at the JPMC in the morning couldn’t be carried out because an RO plant that supplies purified water for dialysis couldn’t function,” said the official, adding that due to a prolonged suspension in supply, water in the reserved tanks had also been used up, which had aggravated the situation at the health facility.

A visit to the JPMC on Monday revealed that patients and their attendants have been suffering a lot due to the supply situation, because toilets have been without water for two days, forcing the attendants to fetch water in bottles from the outside for the patients.

The doctors, nurses and paramedical staff on duty have also been suffering because of the absence of water in their wards, while several other facilities, including clean laundry, could not be provided to the wards for the patients, doctors, nurses and paramedics.

A spokesman for the hospital said JPMC Executive Director Prof Dr Shahid Rasul had contacted KWSB Vice Chairman Najmi Alam and conveyed to him the sufferings of patients, their attendants, doctors and other staff of the health facility.

“Alam has assured the JPMC administration that water supply to the health facility will be restored completely by [Monday night],” he said, adding that at the moment, water was being arranged for the most important wards and departments through tankers.