ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (Pims) has decided to reopen its outpatient departments (OPD) on Monday.

Because of a surge in Covid-19 cases at the hospital on Saturday, the Pims management has also decided to introduce an appointment system to reduce the number of people present on its premises.

Pims OPDs were closed in April because the coronavirus began spreading among healthcare workers in the capital.

At the beginning of August, the hospital management made biometric attendance, which was suspended in March because of the coronavirus pandemic, mandatory so that employees could attend to their duties regularly as soon as OPDs were made functional.

Pims media coordinator Dr Waseem Khawaja told Dawn that half of the wards dedicated to Covid-19 treatment were handed over to other departments. Now that OPDs are being reopened, he said that around 10,000 patients will once again visit the hospital every day.

“Four OPDs - Burns Centre, Mother and Child Hospital, Children’s Hospital and Cardiac Centre - will be made operational from Aug 17. As renovation work is underway in the main hospital, known as Islamabad Hospital, its patients will be seen at the filter clinic,” he said.

There are three private wards and three medical and surgical wards still allocated for Covid-19 patients.

“Private wards will remain dedicated to Covid-19 patients. Out of the six medical and surgical wards, three have been handed over to different departments. Surgical II, IV and Medical VI wards have been returned to the departments, but Medical II, IV and V will remain dedicated to Covid-19 patients,” Dr Khawaja said.

Pims Executive Director Dr Ansar Maxood confirmed that OPDs will open on Monday.

Dr Maxood added that although there had been two to four confirmed cases of Covid-19 reported for several days, on Aug 15, 46 suspected patients were tested for the disease of which 23 were positive.

“So we have decided to reduce the rush in the hospital as it could be a spike due to Eidul Azha or due to Independence Day celebrations, which began much earlier than Aug 14,” he said.

“Banners have been displayed [which say] that each patient should come alone or with just one attendant. Moreover, social distancing and the wearing of masks will also be ensured so that the spread of the virus can be stopped,” he said.

He said an appointment system will be introduced in a few days, because of which patients will come to the hospital on time for their appointments rather than spending hours there.

“Although we cannot force patients to get appointments, as some may not be able to get an appointment, we will also accept patients who come to the hospital without an appointment. However, we are hopeful that a large chunk of patients will get appointments, because of which the rush in the hospital will be reduced,” he said.

Dr Maxood said patients can make an appointment over the phone; the number will be available on the Pims website and on hospital banners.

Rawalpindi

Two persons tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday while nine patients were discharged after recovery.

The number of confirmed patients in the district now stands at 6,600 whereas 279 people have died and 6,162 patients have been discharged after recovery.

A total of 179 suspected patients are waiting for their results from four government hospitals, including Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH), Holy Family Hospital (HFH), District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) and Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU). Around 93 patients are under treatment at these facilities.

As many as 53 asymptomatic patients are isolated in their homes. Local administrations have kept 233 people under quarantine in 50 houses, who had been close contacts of confirmed patients. According to data from the Rawalpindi Division, 7,945 people tested positive for Covid-19 since March, including 6,600 in Rawalpindi, 584 in Attock, 474 in Jhelum and 287 in Chakwal. As many as 7,422 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery in the four districts including 6,175 in Rawalpindi, 541 in Attock, 460 in Jhelum and 246 in Chakwal.

Around 345 people died in the division - 279 in Rawalpindi, 20 in Attock, nine in Jhelum and 37 in Chakwal.

Additional reporting by Aamir Yasin

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2020