PHC orders nine hospitals to suspend surgeries

LAHORE: The Punjab Healthcare Commission (PHC) has stopped 20 operation theatres of nine hospitals from doing surgeries and issued notices to 18 healthcare establishments for not implementing the Minimum Service Delivery Standards.

As per a press release issued here on Sunday, out of 20 operation theatres, one each was of the Fazal Elahi Chattha Hospital Faisalabad, Punjab Dental Hospital Lahore and DHQ Hospital Rajanpur, two of the Government Sardar Begum Hospital Sialkot, three each of the Syed Medical Complex Sialkot and Saahil Hospital Faisalabad, four of the Haleema Hospital Multan and five of the DHQ Teaching Hospital Dera Ghazi Khan.

In its 23 inspections of both public and private hospitals of different districts of the province during the last two working days, the PHC had directed administrations of these hospitals to suspend surgeries in the operation theatres because these OTs were unfit for any medical procedures. The respective administrations of these hospitals were directed to submit written replies to the PHC. These theatres would become functional only after the administrations concerned would submit laboratory reports to the Punjab Healthcare Commission after having implemented the standardised measures in these theatres. Moreover, notices had also been served to seven hospitals for not taking requisite measures for the disposal of the medical waste.

Out of the 18 hospitals which were served show-cause notices, four of the Rawalpindi district hospitals were Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Al-Khidmat Razi Hospital, Hanif Medical Complex and Attock Hospital, and three of Sialkot hospitals were Allama Iqbal Memorial Hospital, Sialkot Medical Complex and Islam Teaching Hospital. The rest were: Foundation Hospital Rajana Toba Tek Singh, Care Family Hospital Multan, Janat Aziz Eye Hospital Vehari, and Aasia Iqbal Hospital Layyah.