Islamabad: Rising Covid-19 infections have exposed Pakistan’s ill-equipped health care system.
The country reported 41 new cases on Monday bringing the total to 94. This is the biggest single-day increase in the country. Sindh province is the worst-affected with 76 cases, including 25 cases in Karachi alone.
A day earlier, Punjab reported its first case. Cases have also emerged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan and Balochistan.
Poorly-equipped government hospitals lack the capacity to screen the large number of suspected cases. Another challenge is quarantining and isolating those detected positive.
Hospitals lack basic equipment like masks, sanitisers and ventilators.
Worse, some doctors are reluctant to go near patients. In Balochistan, disciplinary action was initiated against 13 doctors for staying away from a quarantine centre in Mastung city. On their part, doctors complain of a lack of proper standard operating procedures (SOP).
The situation in Mastung is no different from urban areas. Even at Islamabad’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), two doctors were isolated for adopting a procedure in violation of SOPs.
Dr Waseem Khawaja, spokesperson for PIMS, told Gulf News that the state-of -the-art facility had limited resources with regard to provision of personal protection equipment for its medical staff of 800.
The hospital lacks ventilators and patients have to line up and get a token to be alloted one.
“We have allocated 10 beds [half are already occupied] in case the number rises,” Khawaja said. He insisted that the situation is under control and more beds and ventilators will be provided if the situation calls for it.
A US-returned woman who was recently admitted to PIMS’ isolation unit and put on ventilator remains in critical condition, Dr Khawaja said.
