Wisal Yousafzai
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government claims to take revolutionary steps in health sector seems to vanish as Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), one of the biggest hospitals of the province, still lacks basic facilities.
The Frontier Post has learnt that at least six children who were suffering from pneumonia have died in one night because of the shortage of oxygen.
A nurse at the Children Emergency Ward of the hospital while talking to the The Frontier Post on the condition of not to be named said that around four pneumonia patients died in the ward because of the oxygen was not available at the ward.
She further added apart from these four children expired in emergency ward six-month old Zakir Khan and one-year old Hamza died in other wards of the hospital.
Children Specialist at LRH Doctor Wali said that they were receiving around 800 children patients of pneumonia from different northern area of KP every day at OPD, adding that pneumonia patients needed special care and proper oxygen to save their lives.
He said that due to the harsh winter pneumonia cases were on the rise in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern areas where children were being affected with chest infection. He further said that there were more chances of pneumonia in malnourished children. When contacted the spokesperson of LRH denied that there was any shortage of oxygen in children ward of the hospital and all the facilities were available to the patients.
The spokesperson added that the hospital including staff and doctors were performing day and night duty and were providing best healthcare facilities to the patients.
According to the World Health Organization report, pneumonia accounts for 16% of the total child deaths making it the leading killer of children less than five years of age globally.
The report further said that Pakistan is among top five countries where pneumonia is exists and 99 % cases of pneumonia cases were reported in the country.
