A health facility is meant to cure the ailing – an obligation which seems lost on Lahore’s Shaikh Zayed Hospital (SZH). The iconic health facility of yesteryear has now been reduced to an ailing institution that has lost the proverbial healing touch, thanks to a host of issues afflicting it. Chronic shortage of resources, coupled with administrative lapses and impertinence of the staff, is said to have compounded the problems for the patients and the visiting public.
Those in the know of the situation say the decline in the hospital performance was precipitated by the change of hands from the Punjab government to the federal government which has failed to funnel due investment, leaving the patients at the mercy of a highly demotivated staff. The doctors, nurses and the paramedical staff too claim to be working under extremely stressful conditions and without much incentive, as do the pathologists and technicians who are entrusted with vital jobs.
So too the wards and laboratories which, according to a report, are plagued by mismanagement. It is scandalous that there is hardly any implementation of the Covid-19 SOPs in the hospital and its pharmacy and cafeteria which are frequented by the attendants.
To make matters worse, the patients and their attendants have to go through the agony of misbehaviour of the nursing and other staff. Complaints are rife that the impolite staff and patients or their kin engage in heated exchanges which lead to altercations. Moreover, the carefree attitude of the staff in maintaining files of patients and liaising with the duty doctors seems a common practice with no remedy in sight in the absence of a redress mechanism.
The SZH administration has also failed to ensure cleanliness in the wards where even the beds meant for the patients have worn out and are infested with cockroaches. Reports suggest that the patients at the ill-equipped wards have no option but to share drip stands and even beds.
Officials admit the administrative lapses and other issues which they blame on a lack of investment and resources. They say the situation is not much different for the doctors, nurses and allied staff who have to work overtime and treat the patients in a non-conducive environment. How can one expect professionalism from the health practitioners who have been awaiting their promotions and other incentives for years, they ask. The hospital, they claim, has been facing a shortage of hundreds of consultants, faculty members, nurses and paramedics.
That the institution which was once an envy of the people far and wide for its treatment of liver, gastric, neurological, pulmonary and cardiac diseases and plastic surgery is in an abysmal state, is tragic to say the least. The federal health ministry and other relevant authorities need to wake up and listen to the cries of anguish and restore the lost glory of the hospital by taking a slew of measures besides immediately releasing funds. It’s time Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team lived up to their promise of providing relief to the common man and fixed responsibility for the plight of the patients at the hospital where, like other state-run health institutions, human endurance seems stretched to its limits at any time of the day.
Those in the know of the situation say the decline in the hospital performance was precipitated by the change of hands from the Punjab government to the federal government which has failed to funnel due investment, leaving the patients at the mercy of a highly demotivated staff. The doctors, nurses and the paramedical staff too claim to be working under extremely stressful conditions and without much incentive, as do the pathologists and technicians who are entrusted with vital jobs.
The emergency department of a health facility performs one of the most important functions but what can one expect from the SZH facility which is short of beds and other equipment. The halls meant for administering first-aid and attend the critical patients are cramped and exude nauseating odour due to the pathetic state of sanitation and humidity.
So too the wards and laboratories which, according to a report, are plagued by mismanagement. It is scandalous that there is hardly any implementation of the Covid-19 SOPs in the hospital and its pharmacy and cafeteria which are frequented by the attendants.
To make matters worse, the patients and their attendants have to go through the agony of misbehaviour of the nursing and other staff. Complaints are rife that the impolite staff and patients or their kin engage in heated exchanges which lead to altercations. Moreover, the carefree attitude of the staff in maintaining files of patients and liaising with the duty doctors seems a common practice with no remedy in sight in the absence of a redress mechanism.
The SZH administration has also failed to ensure cleanliness in the wards where even the beds meant for the patients have worn out and are infested with cockroaches. Reports suggest that the patients at the ill-equipped wards have no option but to share drip stands and even beds.
Officials admit the administrative lapses and other issues which they blame on a lack of investment and resources. They say the situation is not much different for the doctors, nurses and allied staff who have to work overtime and treat the patients in a non-conducive environment. How can one expect professionalism from the health practitioners who have been awaiting their promotions and other incentives for years, they ask. The hospital, they claim, has been facing a shortage of hundreds of consultants, faculty members, nurses and paramedics.
That the institution which was once an envy of the people far and wide for its treatment of liver, gastric, neurological, pulmonary and cardiac diseases and plastic surgery is in an abysmal state, is tragic to say the least. The federal health ministry and other relevant authorities need to wake up and listen to the cries of anguish and restore the lost glory of the hospital by taking a slew of measures besides immediately releasing funds. It’s time Prime Minister Imran Khan and his team lived up to their promise of providing relief to the common man and fixed responsibility for the plight of the patients at the hospital where, like other state-run health institutions, human endurance seems stretched to its limits at any time of the day.