PESHAWAR: As the Lady Reading Hospital, the provincial capital’s largest public sector hospital, received the victims of the Friday mosque bombing, the doctors, who were on strike over the non-regularisation of services, resumed duty and tended to the injured totalling around 200.

They also placed bodies in coffins and facilitated blood donors at the hospital’s accident and emergency department.

The LRH doctors told Dawn that paramedics from other hospitals also showed up to ensure better patient care.

They, however, complained about a large influx of irrelevant people.

Complain influx of people hampered patient care

The doctors said the Provincial Doctors Association, Young Doctors Association and Paramedical Association asked their members to reach the hospital soon after the suicide blast.

They said the PDA called off the strike, which had begun a couple of days ago against the non-regularisation of the services of contractual doctors, and that the medics resumed their respective duties without delay.

The doctors said the 1750-bed LRH had one of the biggest accident and emergency department in the province.

PDA chairman Dr Zubair Zahir told Dawn that the association’s members had begun an indefinite strike to claim the job regularisation for 800 contractual doctors in the province but the deadly mosque blast left the striking medics with no option but to strengthen emergency services at the LRH, which received over 250 patients at the same time.

“Our doctors rushed to the emergency and handled the injured and other patients. The emergency patients require immediate relief as any delay in it can prove fatal,” he said.

Dr Zubair said the commitment of health workers to the cause of patient care could be judged from the fact that they didn’t observe any strike during the Covid-19 pandemic and did the assigned tasks diligently to save lives.

He said the doctors never preferred own interests to the care of the victims of bomb attacks and other emergencies.

YDA president Dr Asfandyar Bittani said the Lady Reading Hospital had always provided the best possible services to the patients coming in from Peshawar and other parts of the province and Friday was no different.

He said the doctors of other hospitals rushed to the LRH to manage the heavy patient load after the suicide bombing.

The YDA president appreciated the people for donating blood in large quantity for the injured but said the crowding of the hospital during emerge situations badly affect patient care.

“People should avoid visiting hospitals during such situations because their influx affects essential health services. Political leaders should also stay away from hospitals in such occasions,” he said.

Dr Zubair, however, said it was good that the health secretary showed up to supervise the care of the blast victims.

Leader of paramedics Syed Roidar Shah said the employees had gained a lot of experience over the years to handle emergencies efficiently.

“It is difficult for the department to cope with the arrival of serious patients in large numbers in the presence of visitors and VIPs. We cannot fully concentrate on their care in such situations,” he said.

A senor doctor at the LRH told Dawn that the first hour was critical for the health of serious patients during which proper attention could save their lives and prevent disabilities but the people accompanying them hampered care.

He said the health workers could move freely in the presence of a large number of attendants and therefore, patient care was adversely affected.

“We repeatedly asked the people not to visit hospital in emergency situations but unfortunately, the advice fell on deaf ears,” he said.

The doctor said patients with bone injuries should be operated upon immediately to avoid complications as any delay in that respect could lead to vascular injuries and infections, which often led to amputation of limbs.

He said the LRH accident and emergency department had more than 400 trained employees, who worked in three shifts to provide care to victims of firing incidents, road accidents, heart attacks and other emergencies.

“Life-saving procedures require full focus of doctors,” he said.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2022