LAHORE: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif was shifted to an intensive care unit set up at his Jati Umra residence from the Services Hospital, where he had been admitted in a critical condition over two weeks ago, while his condition remained unstable on Wednesday with the platelet count dropping to 26,000.

His party said the specialised ICU was set up at the Jati Umra residence in Raiwind on “doctors’ recommendations” and that the Sharif Medical City medics would be available there round the clock.

His daughter and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz vice president Maryam Nawaz, who had been given special permission by the Punjab government to stay at the Services Hospital to look after him, also left for Jati Umra after being released on bail in the Chaudhry sugar mills case on Wednesday.

PML-N secretary information Marriyum Aurangzeb said: “Owing to his critical condition the doctors have disallowed any meetings with him. They have also told Maryam Nawaz to take extreme preventive measures to ensure his well-being,” she said.

She explained that the unit set up at Jati Umra was equipped with a ventilator and a cardiac ICU.

Maryam, too, leaves for Raiwind residence after being released in Chaudhry sugar mills case

“These measures have been taken because of low platelets. Nawaz Sharif is extremely vulnerable to Hospital Acquired Infec­tions (HAIs). Therefore, the doctors have advised for setting up a specialised medicare unit at home (for Sharif),” she said, adding the Sharif Medical City under the supervision of Dr Khan set up this unit where doctors would be available round the clock.

“Former PM Sharif is transferred under care of a special medical board formed by the Sharif Medical City for further management. A specialised HDU (High Dependency Unit) is established for this purpose, which is appropriately equipped and staffed 24/7,” said Dr Adnan Khan, his personal physician, in a tweet. He added that Mr Sharif’s condition was still unstable as his platelet count was 26,000 on Wednesday.

The ex-premier was rushed to the Services Hospital on Oct 21 from the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) Lahore office after his personal doctor raised an alarm that his condition was critical, as his platelets had dropped to a critically low level. Mr Sharif who initially appeared reluctant to go to hospital agreed to get treated at the Services Hospital on insistence of his younger brother and PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif.

Just a day ago, a medical board led by Services Institute of Medical Sciences Principal Prof Dr Mahmood Ayaz had recommended Mr Sharif’s treatment abroad in the wake of his health complications.

“We have recommended genetic tests, followed by cardiac treatment under one roof, which requires more diagnosis to provide further treatment to Nawaz Sharif. The panel of doctors has come to a unanimous decision that since the complete genetic test facility is not available in Pakistan, the patient requires treatment abroad,” Dr Ayaz told Dawn on Tuesday.

He said: “Doctors have provided the best treatment to the patient (Sharif) here. The patient is stable as compared to the initial days when he was shifted to the hospital. However, his platelets are not stable and the doctors recommended his treatment abroad.” During the course of treatment, the former premier had suffered an angina attack, besides complaints of bleeding from gums and some other parts, because of his fluctuating platelets.

The medical board comprising four senior and leading haematologists diagnosed immune thrombocytopenia (a disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding) in the patient.

The Islamabad High Court had last week granted bail to him for eight weeks, suspending his seven-year sentence in Al-Azizia Steel Mills corruption reference on medical grounds. Earlier, he had also secured bail in the Chaudhry sugar mills case from the Lahore High Court on the same ground. This week the LHC also granted bail to his daughter Maryam in the sugar mills case.

Published in Dawn, November 7th, 2019