The Punjab government spent Rs4 billion to renovate Holy Family Hospital (HFH) to increase the capacity of one of the largest public sector hospitals, install new furniture and clean its filthy basement – a source of infections on the premises.

The hospital has 1,100 beds now, up from 1,050 and in cases of emergency, it can muster up to almost 1,300 beds. Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Ijaz Butt said the basement – which had not been used in decades – had been converted into gynae and peads departments. Dr Butt said the hospital had acquired better facilities after the renovation and patients would be treated in a clean and pristine atmosphere. He said new furniture, including beds and chairs, were installed in the hospital and modern operation theatres were also built to provide infection-free surgeries.

According to the medical superintendent, there was a capacity of 332 beds in the gynae department which had been increased to 400 beds – the highest in the region.

“In the nursery, there are more than 60 incubators to take care of infants,” he said. Speaking about the cleanliness drive at the hospital which preceded the renovations, Dr Butt said more than 800 trollies of waste had been removed from the basement which had remained shut for years, accumulating dirty water and garbage.

Rawalpindi Medical University (RMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammad Umer told Dawn that missionaries established the hospital to provide high-quality medical services to patients in the region and the Punjab government was keeping their mission alive.

“On the orders of Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, pharmacies on the premises will provide free medicines and emergency cases from across the country will be treated without any charge,” he said.

He, however, admitted that the protracted delay in renovations posed problems for patients but recent upgrades allowed the hospital to cater to them efficiently. “The OPD is expected to increase from 3,000 to 4,000 patients daily which is highest in the region,” he said.

Similarly, the operational and maintenance costs would also decrease, hoped the RMU VC. He said that the RMU was planning to establish new departments in the hospital and in the coming days, HFH would be a role model for the country.

The hospital was opened in 1927 in an old building near Liaquat Bagh on Murree Road by the Christian Mission of Philadelphia and it moved to the new building in Satellite Town in 1946. The mission donated the hospital to the Punjab government in 1977, after which it became the largest teaching hospital in the division.

The story of the hospital begins with the arrival of nuns in the garrison city. In 1909, St Catherine’s Hospital opened behind the Presentation Convent in Rawalpindi, where Dr Anna Dangel, an Austrian national, worked for years. Sister Anna Dangel in turn founded the Medical Mission of Sisters in the United States in 1925.

It was under her leadership, along with other mission sisters, that HFH was established in 1927. The first hospital of its kind in the area, it soon gained a reputation for its maternity services. When it moved to its present premises in the 40s, many of its doctors and nurses at the time were sisters, along with locals.

A chapel was also built in the hospital and on the third floor a nursing school served as a training centre, a venue for graduation ceremonies and even activities. A tower, visible from afar and rising from this level, is a landmark of the building.

The basement was used to house maintenance, carpeting, electric, tailoring and cleaning workshops, as well as a large laundry. This basement could accommodate all the hospital’s patients during emergency situations, according to a disaster plan.

“Interestingly, the building was constructed on donations. All the bricks were made in the hospital’s brick kiln. The Christian missionaries collected donations and plaques in various wards are proof of that,” RMU VC had told Dawn.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024