SIALKOT
A special inspection team of Punjab Ombudsman expressed grave concern over three out of order dialysis machines at Govt Sardar Begum Memorial Teaching Hospital.
During the surprising visit, perturbed indoor and outdoor patients gave vent to their anger against the absence of doctors in different wards of the hospital. The team led by Dr Sania Saleem pointed out that all the three dialysis machines were lying out of order and there was no urologist at the dialysis centre. The team head took a notice of the situation and directed the hospital management to ensure early rectification of the machines.
Talking to the visiting team, most of the kidney patients including Haji Gulzar Ahmed, Haji Muhammad Akhtar, Quratul Ain, Haleema, Khalida Parveen, Rana Abdul Sattar, Muhammad Yousaf, Muhammad Shafi and Arif Mehmood said that they had been suffering from difficulties in dialysis of their kidneys for the last four consecutive months due to prolonged non-availability of the dialysis kits.
The patients added that they were forced to go to private hospitals and clinics in Sialkot for dialysis of their kidneys by the managements of these hospitals. They said that 80 kidney patients still had been waiting for these kits at the hospitals.
Years have passed, but the Punjab Health department is still unable to appoint any urologist and nephrologist at Govt Allama Iqbal Memorial DHQ Hospital Sialkot and Govt Sardar Begum Memorial DHQ Hospital Sialkot which got Teaching Hospital Status two years ago.
The Punjab government had established the kidney dialysis centres at both the hospitals about four and half years ago by providing advanced machinery there. But no urologist and nephrologist has yet been appointed there. Due to which, the kidney dialysis centres are being run by the managements. These centres also lack dialysis kits due to which, the local kidney patients suffer great ordeal.
DIAGNOSTIC CENTRE OPENS: A well-equipped pathology diagnostic centre has started functioning at the advanced Trauma Centre in Govt Allama Iqbal Teaching Hospital Sialkot.
MPAs Muhammad Manshaullah Butt, Muhammad Ikram and Dr Zafar Ali Chaudhary, Principal of Kh Muhammad Safdar Medical College, inaugurated the centre during a special ceremony held at Trauma Centre. On the occasion, they pledged to make an all-out effort to ensure early and smooth provision of the advanced medical and health facilities to the local people at local level.