Govt asked to establish blood bank at Haripur DHQ Hospital

HARIPUR: The residents of Haripur have asked the government to establish a blood bank at the District Headquarters (DHQ) Hospital here.
They said the much-awaited project of 210-bed District Headquarters Hospital that started functioning in 2008 after a delay of over 15 years due to lack of interest of political leadership has yet to be equipped with a blood bank. “Accident cases are referred to the DHQ Hospital daily, but they are taken to the Ayub Medical Complex in Abbottabad due to unavailability of blood bank,” said a social activist, Niamat Gul.
He said that similarly several women had died during delivery due to unavailability of blood.
Official sources said that 15 to 20 operations of Gynae, general surgery, orthopedic, ENT departments were carried out daily at the district headquarters hospital. They said that the patients in most cases needed blood transfusion, but they were asked to arrange blood from private suppliers or laboratories.
“The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government is making tall claims of revamping the Health Department, but it has not set up a blood bank in the category B hospital,” said Bashir, a resident of Mohalla Motian.
He urged the government to arrange the blood bank for the people so that precious lives could be saved. Haripur has 1.2 mullion population. It is one of the largest revenue generating districts with second largest industrial zone of Hattar Industrial Estate, but it is still deprived of quality healthcare facilities.
When contacted, Medical Superintendent DHQs Hospital Dr Zakeem Khan Wazir said that despite having all the equipment there was no blood bank in the hospital. He added despite repeated requests there was no pathologist in the DHQ.
Dr Zakeem Khan Wazir said there was standard operating procedure for a quality blood bank for which a post for pathologist was imperative, but he claimed it had been lying vacant for many years.