Rawalpindi: The Old Block of Holy Family Hospital would resume working by the end of January as is being planned at least at the moment while the New Block of the teaching hospital may take another one month to get operational on the subject of receiving and accommodating patients at both the outpatient department and in wards.
The HFH which is the biggest public sector tertiary care hospital in Rawalpindi division had stopped receiving new patients in the third week of October last year due to maintenance and repair work at the hospital. The HFH that was operating with over 1200 beds is being revamped as a number of departments and sections in the hospital were in dilapidated condition and in a dire need of maintenance and repair.
It is important to mention here that thousands of patients have been suffering badly due to unavailability of services at the HFH though the hospital’s administration, at the time of closure of the hospital had advised patients to visit Benazir Bhutto Hospital, District Headquarters Hospital and Rawalpindi Institute of Urology and Transplantation along with Red Crescent Hospital as various departments of the HFH were shifted to these four hospitals.
Of course, a huge number of patients have been suffering because of the closure of the HFH as they are not being properly guided, said a top official serving at the HFH while responding to a query. Pleading anonymity, the official said that departments of the HFH are working in other hospitals of the town but for patients, it is difficult to reach their desired department without proper guidance.
He added that the heavy burden of patients at BBH, DHQ Hospital and RIUT after closure of HFH has been another reason behind miseries of the patients visiting there. Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department and Paediatrics Department that was operating in the Old block of HFH would resume working by the end of January while the New Block of the hospital would most probably be functional again after the middle of February, said Medical Superintendent at HFH Dr. Ijaz Butt while talking to ‘The News’ on Wednesday.
To a query, he said many patients might have been suffering because of the closure of HFH but the maintenance and repair work was necessary. After revamping, the hospital would be able to serve patients in ideal conditions and it would certainly become free from infections and hopefully, the number of cases of hospital acquired infections would practically drop to near to zero, he added.
It is important that both the two units of Medicine Department of HFH are operating in RIUT while one unit of each Gynaecology and Obstetrics Department and Surgery Department of HFH are working in BBH and the other two units of the two departments are operational at DHQ Hospital. The anaesthesia department of HFH is operating at BBH and DHQ Hospital while the Paediatrics Department had been shifted to BBH. The Department of Infectious Diseases at HFH is operating at Red Crescent Hospital near to College Chowk along Saidpur Road.
