ICU beds, ventilators shortage in KP hospitals leaves patients struggling

PESHAWAR: There is a severe shortage of beds and ventilators in the intensive care units (ICUs) of the government-run hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

It means the patients requiring critical care at the ICUs are struggling to receive treatment at the government hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The province is home to 40.85 million people.

The poor state of affairs can be gauged by the fact that the 41 teaching and district headquarter hospitals only have 396 ICU beds. Whereas, the number of ventilators is just 215.

NO SERVICE

Meanwhile, 10 hospitals have neither any ICU beds nor ventilators. According to the Health Department data, these include Naseerullah Khan Babar Memorial Hospital Peshawar as well as the district headquarter hospitals at Mardan, Swabi, Tank, Bannu, Hangu, Mohamad, Bajaur, Shangla and Upper Kohistan.    

A division-wise look at the government data reveal that nine main hospitals in Peshawar have ICU 132 beds and 103 ventilators. The corresponding numbers for Mardan’s four teaching and district headquarter hospitals are 44 and 21.

On the other hand, there are 40 ICU beds and 27 ventilators in the nine government hospitals in Malakand. Similarly, Kohat’s five hospitals 30 ICU beds and 16 ventilators.   

The official figures for Hazara, DI Khan and Bannu are given as: six hospitals, 74 ICU beds and 30 ventilators; four hospitals, 24 ICU beds and six ventilators; four hospitals, 18 ICU beds and 12 ventilators.

When comes to the large teaching hospitals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are concerned, the Khyber Teaching Hospital has 45 ICU beds and 34 ventilators, followed by Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC) 49 and 52, Qazi Hussain Ahmad Medical Complex six and five, Mardan Medical Complex 16 and five, Ayub Teaching Hospital 32 and 17.

Meanwhile, the Lady Reading Hospital has 34 ICU beds, but no data is available about the ventilators.

‘NO SHORTAGE’

According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department spokesperson, there is no shortage of ICU beds at the government hospitals in the province. However, he added that the number of patients had increased.

He said a new block would soon be inaugurated at the HMC, increasing the number of ICU beds.

At the same time, the government was taking steps to provide more ICU beds at the district headquarter hospitals.