National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): People have demanded the authorities concerned to expand emergency unit of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) to entertain maximum number of patients.
According to them, several patients who visit PIMS from far-flung areas face many problems as the existing emergency lacked facilities and could not provide adequate services.
They said that only limited beds were available in emergency wards situated in emergency unit of the hospital, where not only staff were limited but there were acute shortage of medicines.
They asked to take notice of frequent absence of senior doctors and non- observance of duty-roster by medical and non-medical staff at emergency unit.
They said there should be monitoring mechanism to check them whether the duty staff observe their duties or not.
Citizens said a system of reward and punishment should be started by the hospital management under which responsible staff should be encouraged while those who do not take their duties seriously should be engaged in disciplinary actions to make them responsible.
Aslam Hayat, a patient alleged senior doctors mostly remain absent from their duties while only postgraduate (PG) doctors, who were studying there were responsible to run the affairs of the most sensitive unit of the hospital.
He said due to the limited knowledge and experience, they could not satisfy the incoming patients who come here with serious medical complications.
These PGs mostly refer serious patients to other hospitals while they
also remain unable to treat patients with minor medical issues, he added.
Amin Yousaf, another patients said due to non professional attitude of the staff at emergency, patients faced several hardships particularly when they were in critical condition.
He said sometimes patients needed immediate response from
experts but most of the time it had been observed that only
general physicians were present while the specialist doctors
could not reach emergency ward on time.
He said that authorities concerned should immediately expand emergency ward with more staff to provide timely and properly medical care to the patients.
Abbas Ali, a patient demanded to deploy sufficient staff including medical and para medical staff at emergency wards for delivery of better services to the patients.
He said keeping in view the serious nature of the section, only well trained medical and non-medical staff who know the SOPs and all other procedures should be assigned at PIMS emergency.
When contacted an official of the hospital said that unlike
medical practices abroad where one doctor examines five to seven
patients in a day, here at PIMS each doctor had to examine
several patients daily at emergency.
He said a sufficient number of doctors perform duties in the
hospital’s emergency.
He said that due to heavy load at OPD in daytime several patients with normal problems come to emergency to get consultation from the doctors.
He said the hospital management had taken several steps to provide best medical care to the patients.
A team of doctors remain in the emergency ward of the hospital round the
clock to provide proper medical cover to incoming patients, he added.