Pakistan PM Imran Khan visits COVID-19 patients in Islamabad hospital

Islamabad: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday night visited the coronavirus ward of one of the biggest public hospitals in Islamabad to inspect the health facilities, PM office said.

On his visit to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad, PM Imran Khan donned personal protective equipment (PPE) and met both coronavirus patients and the doctors on duty in the COVID-19 ward.

During the unannounced visit, he asked the patients if they were getting proper treatment. PM Khan also inquired about the healthcare facilities, availability of medical supplies particularly the oxygen provision in the hospital. He urged the doctors that every possible facility and all available resources should be utilised to ensure the best treatment for patients.

Dr Minhajus Siraj, the head of the hospital, briefed the premier on the facilities available to COVID-19 patients at the hospital. He said there were more than 200 beds in the hospital allocated for COVID-19 patients out of which 121 were in use. At least 8 coronavirus patients were on ventilators, doctors said.

Speaking to healthcare workers, the prime minister said that they are the country’s frontline fighters and must also take care of themselves. He also asked the doctors and healthcare staff whether they had been vaccinated.

The visit was unannounced and came as a complete surprise to the hospital staff as the premier’s intent was to personally review the healthcare facilities and coronavirus situation in the public hospital, PM office said.

Pakistan has so far administered more than 3.6 million vaccine doses as of May 11. A total of 1.7 million people have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine while nearly 938,948 Pakistanis have been fully vaccinated.