RAWALPINDI: The Holy Family Hospital’s (HFH) burns unit, the only public sector burns unit in the Rawalpindi district, has a 10-bed capacity and caters to burn victims from the entire district.

Due to the shortage of beds, patients are referred to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) and to private hospitals in Rawalpindi, which can charge over Rs100,000 to treat a patient.

On June 10, two women with 60pc burns were brought to the hospital, where they were treated in the emergency ward because there was no space in the burns unit. They were later shifted to Pims.

A senior doctor at HFH told Dawn that the patients were received in critical condition and were treated in the emergency ward due to the lack of space in the burns unit.

He said the unit’s current capacity did not meet the district’s needs, but the hospital did not refuse to admit patients and instead treated them in the emergency ward.

He said the burns unit was established in the basement of the emergency building, and a plastic surgery unit is also needed to perform reconstructive surgery.

However, he added that there is no doctor in the government-run hospital to perform plastic surgery.

The doctor said it was difficult to vacate beds in the unit within a week or 10 days because burn injuries need time to recover under the supervision of senior doctors who look after the patients every day.

Mohammad Anwar, a patient’s attendant, said the shortage of beds forces patients to leave the hospital within a week. “Doctors started saying during treatment to take the patient to a better hospital as there was no facility available at HFH,” he said.

HFH Medical Superintendent Dr Raja Shafique said the burns unit originally contained four beds, and they increased the capacity with donations from philanthropists.

He said the unit meets patient requirements, but in cases of emergency patients are treated in the emergency ward, which is also meant for critical patients.

“The Punjab government allocated Rs199 million in the annual development programme to increase the number of beds from 10 to 25, and it will improve the performance of medical care for patients with burn injuries,” he said.

Dr Shafique said the plastic surgery department would be improved in the next fiscal year, starting in July, and doctors’ training would also be started in the upgraded section of the burns unit.

Young Doctors Association Punjab Chairman Dr Haider Akhter said the HFH burns unit needs to be upgraded, and such facilities need to be established in the other two hospitals in the city so people can avail the facility.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2017