F.P. Report
LAHORE: Despite millions of health budget allocated for the hospitals of provincial metropolitan, the citizens are facing inconvenience due to unavailability of healthcare facilities, severe shortage of life saving drugs, and paramedical staff, lack of state of art machinery in all hospitals of the city.
As per details, Meo hospital is one of the major hospitals of the city which was established in 1871. There are approximately 3000 beds and some 9 thousand patients are admitted and two patients are allotted one bed and remaining patients are forced to use the corridors and verandas of hospital for treatment. There are some 40 departments of this hospital but currently 21 experts are working while remaining posts are vacant.
Similarly, some 1780 doctors are performing their duties instead of 3000 doctors in this hospital.s
Approximately 3000 patients visit Outdoor Patient Department (OPD) of this hospital on daily basis. This department is also facing severe shortage of doctors and other paramedical staff.
Over 8 lac patients visit emergency department of this hospital annually. There is also severe shortage of laboratory, ventilators, oxygen cylinders and so on in this department due to which various patients have lost their lives.
In this hospital, some 300 patients are operated daily while 150 patients are given the time of next day.
Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) was the only hospital of the province since long where cardiac patients were treated. In this hospital over 600 patients are admitted on 292 beds. Over two lac cardiac patients visit OPD of this hospital annually. In PIC, 4 thousand patients are conducted Nuclear Medicine Procedure, 24 thousand patients eco-cardio graphy, 12 thousand Angiography and 4 thousand patients were conducted Angioplasty and stunt of 9 thousand patients are inserted. There is shortage of beds in PIC and due to non-availability of modern laboratory, the doctors referred the patients for various tests in private laboratories.
Lahore General Hospital, which is the second largest hospital of the city with the total capacity of 1700 beds for patients. The two affiliated Medical colleges is one of the major issues of this hospital. Due to shortage of beds, doctors have to admit the three patients on one bed. Neurosurgery Center which is one of the biggest centers of the country has also been setup in the premises of this hospital on the total area of some 256 kanals of land.
There are some 700 beds for patients which are insufficient due to growing number of patients.
Jinnah Hospital was established in 1996 on the total land of 105 kanals. In 2005, some 100 beds were added in emergency department of this hospital. There is capacity of admission of 100 patients in burn unit but this unit is over loaded. There is no arrangement of accommodation for the attendants of patients of remote area of the province. Over one thousand doctors including trainee doctors are working in this hospital but it is facing severe shortage of specialist doctors.
Although Medical Superintendent of this hospital Dr. Suhail Saqlin has claimed that 93 % machinery of this hospital is functional including MRI and CT scan machine.
Services Hospital was established in 1958. At the beginning, it consists of 100 beds and now this hospital has 1196 beds. There are 31 department of this hospital. Most of which are functioning without their heads. This hospital has 27 major operation theater and 8 small operation theater which were facing severe shortage of attendants and nurses.
Sir Ganga Ram hospital which is one of the historical hospitals of the city which was established by Sir Ganga Ram Agarwal in 1921 consists of 870 beds but over three thousand patients remains admit in this hospitals. Approximately 2 thousand patients are treated in this hospital on daily basis.
