PESHAWAR: Despite ruling Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for more than 12 years, Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf has failed to improve the public hospital system. Contrary to claims of reforms in the health sector, ground realities continue to highlight the hardships faced by patients. During just three months of his tenure, Chief Minister Suhail Afridi had to make several surprise visits to public hospitals in Peshawar following patient complaints, which clearly reflects the poor state of the healthcare system.
During the tenure of Pervez Khattak, PTI enforced the MTI Act 2015 in the province and the health sector was effectively handed over to Imran Khan’s cousin, Dr Nosherwan Burki. Based in the United States, Dr Nosherwan Burki serves as Chairman of the MTI Policy Board and the LRH Board and is considered a powerful figure in the health sector.
Peshawar’s population has reached nearly 6 million, while thousands people from nearby districts also depend on the provincial capital for healthcare. The city is already under severe pressure in terms of medical facilities, where despite the presence of three major general hospitals, patients continue to face an acute shortage of beds. The PTI government has failed to establish any major general hospital in Peshawar. Construction of the Peshawar Institute of Cardiology was initiated in 2005 during the tenure of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal and was completed 15 years later in 2020.
The most serious issue in Peshawar’s public hospitals is the shortage of ICU facilities, due to which many patients lose their lives. In several children’s wards, two to three patients are placed on a single bed. According to available data, for a population of over 8 million, Peshawar has only 74 ICU beds in total, while just 31 ICU beds are available for children, which is grossly insufficient to meet current needs.
Along with Peshawar’s population, patients from other districts also turn to Peshawar’s hospitals. In addition, Afghan refugees also seek treatment at these hospitals.
Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar has the capacity to admit 1,800 patients, while it has a total of 34 ICU beds, including 7 beds for children. Similarly, Hayatabad Medical Complex has a total of 1,250 beds, with 16 ICU beds for adult patients and 10 ICU beds for children. Khyber Teaching Hospital has a total of 1,600 beds, with 31 general ICU beds and only 14 ICU beds for children.
According to the data, there are only 31 ICU beds available for children across Peshawar, making the situation extremely alarming. Critically ill patients and children are often referred elsewhere due to the non availability of ICU beds, while in many cases delays prove fatal.
Provincial Health Minister Khaliq ur Rehman told this correspondent that a 270 bed children’s hospital is being constructed in Peshawar and will be completed in March. He said that a 34 bed ICU is under construction at Hayatabad Medical Complex and will be made operational very soon. He said the government is aware that hospital bed capacity must be increased in proportion to the growing population and that proper planning is being carried out in this regard. He added that the existing children’s hospital will be upgraded, while the Molvi Ji Hospital will also be upgraded and new wards will be established there.
The minister said that to address the shortage of ICU beds, private hospitals will also be offered an appropriate ICU package so that patients can access ICU facilities at private hospitals as well. He said that district hospitals are also being revamped to reduce the burden on hospitals in Peshawar.
Medical experts and citizens have urged the government to immediately increase the number of ICU beds in major public hospitals of Peshawar and to provide separate and fully equipped facilities for children in order to cope with the pressure of the growing population.
