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KARACHI: Swine flu treatment facilities at major hospitals ordered
By Mukhtar Alam
Sunday, 13 Dec, 2009
KARACHI, Dec 12: Ordering all major government hospitals in the province to equip their isolation wards with necessary swine flu treatment facilities at the earliest, Sindh Minister for Health Dr Sagheer Ahmad on Saturday granted permission to appoint technical staff at those hospitals where ventilators are lying unutilised.
The order came in the wake of an increasing number of swine flu patients reported at various hospitals in Sindh over the past few weeks.
Dawn has learnt that at least four new ventilators worth millions of rupees could not be made functional at two government hospitals in the city owing to unavailability of ICU technicians.
A total of 24 swine flu positive cases have so far been detected in the province and one such patient has died. Another patient, a doctor with a history of foreign tours, is still in a critical condition at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), according to a source, who said that the hospital found a total of 12 patients, including two schoolchildren, swine flu positive cases. They were among the patients who reported at its OPD during the current month.
The minister issued the order while chairing a meeting to review the swine flu prevalence in Sindh and the health department?s preparedness to deal with the situation.
Provincial Health Secretary Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi, senior health officials and medical superintendents of Sindh government hospitals attended the meeting.
The minister expressed his concern over the aggravating situation, particularly in Karachi, and ordered immediate corrective measures.
The meeting discussed various measures to contain the situation and decided to equip the isolation wards at all major government hospitals in the province with proper facilities to handle the swine flu cases in accordance with the WHO/CDC protocol.
Dr Ahmad stressed that the hospitals having ventilators must have technical staff to operate and maintain the equipment.
He said that ICU technicians for ventilators should be appointed immediately against the vacant posts.
He stated that the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, had confirmed only four swine flu positive cases having been detected in Sindh while the AKUH had detected 23 such cases tested by its laboratory. He further noted that the Civil Hospital Karachi had sent 27 samples of suspected swine flu patients to the NIH but all of them were found negative.
The minister directed the health officials to report a suspected swine flu case reported at any major public or private hospital immediately and share the information with the Dr Shakeel Mullick, the focal person.
He said that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for immediate reporting of swine flu cases and collecting and dispatching the sample to the NIH should be followed strictly by all major hospitals in Sindh. He also ordered immediate activation of a toll-free number to facilitate dissemination of such information.
The meeting decided to involve the media, medicos/paramedics and medical faculties of government and private educational institutions in a vigorous awareness campaign which would include seminars, talk shows etc. The campaign would be aimed at educating the masses on preventive and corrective measures against the swine flu virus.
The meeting decided to take on board the education department, EDOs of education and the district officer of private schools.
The health minister told the officials not to hide any relevant information from the media.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...ent-facilities-at-major-hospitals-ordered-329
By Mukhtar Alam
Sunday, 13 Dec, 2009
KARACHI, Dec 12: Ordering all major government hospitals in the province to equip their isolation wards with necessary swine flu treatment facilities at the earliest, Sindh Minister for Health Dr Sagheer Ahmad on Saturday granted permission to appoint technical staff at those hospitals where ventilators are lying unutilised.
The order came in the wake of an increasing number of swine flu patients reported at various hospitals in Sindh over the past few weeks.
Dawn has learnt that at least four new ventilators worth millions of rupees could not be made functional at two government hospitals in the city owing to unavailability of ICU technicians.
A total of 24 swine flu positive cases have so far been detected in the province and one such patient has died. Another patient, a doctor with a history of foreign tours, is still in a critical condition at the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), according to a source, who said that the hospital found a total of 12 patients, including two schoolchildren, swine flu positive cases. They were among the patients who reported at its OPD during the current month.
The minister issued the order while chairing a meeting to review the swine flu prevalence in Sindh and the health department?s preparedness to deal with the situation.
Provincial Health Secretary Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi, senior health officials and medical superintendents of Sindh government hospitals attended the meeting.
The minister expressed his concern over the aggravating situation, particularly in Karachi, and ordered immediate corrective measures.
The meeting discussed various measures to contain the situation and decided to equip the isolation wards at all major government hospitals in the province with proper facilities to handle the swine flu cases in accordance with the WHO/CDC protocol.
Dr Ahmad stressed that the hospitals having ventilators must have technical staff to operate and maintain the equipment.
He said that ICU technicians for ventilators should be appointed immediately against the vacant posts.
He stated that the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, had confirmed only four swine flu positive cases having been detected in Sindh while the AKUH had detected 23 such cases tested by its laboratory. He further noted that the Civil Hospital Karachi had sent 27 samples of suspected swine flu patients to the NIH but all of them were found negative.
The minister directed the health officials to report a suspected swine flu case reported at any major public or private hospital immediately and share the information with the Dr Shakeel Mullick, the focal person.
He said that the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for immediate reporting of swine flu cases and collecting and dispatching the sample to the NIH should be followed strictly by all major hospitals in Sindh. He also ordered immediate activation of a toll-free number to facilitate dissemination of such information.
The meeting decided to involve the media, medicos/paramedics and medical faculties of government and private educational institutions in a vigorous awareness campaign which would include seminars, talk shows etc. The campaign would be aimed at educating the masses on preventive and corrective measures against the swine flu virus.
The meeting decided to take on board the education department, EDOs of education and the district officer of private schools.
The health minister told the officials not to hide any relevant information from the media.
http://www.dawn.com/wps/wcm/connect...ent-facilities-at-major-hospitals-ordered-329