PESHAWAR: The authorities have converted Nishtarabad Covid-19 Hospital into a general health facility after decline in the number of coronavirus patients in the province.

Nishtarabad General Hospital has started immunisation, screening and treatment of hepatitis besides providing mother and child health services to people along with facilities for Covid-19 patients.

The building was originally built to start Institute of Hepatology but the health department declared it a Covid-19 hospital when there was acute shortage of beds after increase in the number of coronavirus patients in 2020.

Medical Emergency Resilience Foundation, a private organisation, in collaboration with the health department established the facility to cope with the increasing coronavirus cases in Peshawar. The contract with the organisation expired in March this year due to which the health department decided to continue Covid-19 services in the hospital through bidding process.

Decision made after decline in number of coronavirus patients

The health department, in an effort to find beds due to surging hospitalisations during the first wave of the pandemic, launched a Covid-19 hospital with 50-bed isolation ward, 30-bed high dependency unit and 20-bed intensive care unit in the building.

The hospital has also been providing Covid-19 testing and psychological services to the patients and their relatives and close contacts with more than 100 staff.

Officials said that the department with assistance of World Bank was strengthening services at the hospital to ensure safe deliveries of baby along with health of mothers.

They said that emergency obstetric care (EmOC) services were also available at the hospital in addition to neonatal ICU and a children ward where specialist doctors were available.

“The hospital will continue to provide screening and admission facilities to Covid-19 patients. It has PCR machine and trained staff but due to big decrease in Covid-19 cases, the government has decided to start other services there,” said officials.

Peshawar Institute of Cardiology Peshawar, Women and Children Hospital Charsadda and a health facility in Abbottabad were also started as Covid-19 hospitals. These facilities were yet to start operations due to minor problems, but the advent of coronavirus alerted the health department, which first started with Covid-19 and now allowed other patients to seek treatment at the same buildings.

Officials said that NGH would have 10 beds for Covid-19 patients. They said that with the support of World Bank, health department started the general hospital due to burden of patients on medical teaching institutions. The hospital will also offer breast cancer screening services free of cost. A mammography machine is being installed for the purpose.

The hospital will develop linkages with Irnum and Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre for referral of the patients in the initial stages, according to doctors.

The health department was providing services to Covid-19 patients at Peshawar Institute of Cardiology (PIC) but no one was admitted there. The building has been housing PIC since 2020. Women and Children Hospital Charsadda was no different as it remained unutlised due to small issues but it was made functional for Covid-19 patients in emergency. It has started working as women and children hospital now.

Officials said that they had developed ICUs, HDUs and PCR laboratories for coronavirus patients at the district level hospitals, which were now being used for other patients.

They said that the PCR machines installed in 12 districts and in Lady Reading Hospital, Hayatabad Medical Complex and Khyber Teaching Hospital Peshawar were now being used for diagnosis of other diseases, like dengue and typhoid etc.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2022