Amidst the panic created in Pakistan regarding shortage of beds and ventilators in different parts of country, the Health Minister of Punjab, Dr. Yasmin Rashid assures that there is no such scenario in Punjab. In a press conference on Saturday, Dr. Yasmin Rashid condemned the panic created by media houses and social media after Sindh ministers claimed that they are running out of beds for Covid19 patients.
The press conference is much needed in current situation as government is already facing challenge with suspected coronavirus patients who in panic are avoiding going to healthcare services till last stage.
Punjab Government launches App for live tracking of Bed and Ventilator availability
Dr. Rashid gave a detailed briefing on situation in Punjab along with launch of new App by Primary and Secondary Healthcare department Punjab. The app is provided to Rescue 1122 which will give them access to Covid-19 related data for all private and public hospitals in Punjab.
Dr. Rashid said that the government is facing issues with suspected patients who are running from hospital to hospital and claiming absence of facilities. In Lahore where highest Covid-19 cases are reported in Punjab, Chief minister ordered a separate control room in mayo hospital. The hospital is dealing with all suspected and confirmed cases from all over Lahore.
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Moreover, anyone facing corona virus related issue should contact Rescue 1122 first as they have now access to live stats on available beds, nearest hospitals and hospitals with ventilators available.
Occupancy Rate of hospitals in Punjab
To clarify the situation of occupancy in hospitals of Punjab, Dr. Rashid presented live data from the app. In just Lahore, there are around 13,630 beds available with public hospitals for coronavirus patients and 696 are occupied. The city has 854 ventilators with only 255 occupied while 533 are available in working conditions. The tertiary hospitals are 46 with 27,000 bed occupancy and 303 ventilators available. 239 ventilators in tertiary hospital are currently available for patients. The app also has data for 93 private hospitals which showed 381 ventilators available while 23 are occupied at the moment.
PIC acknowledges Data sharing by Punjab Health Department
The Punjab Information Commission, in an official letter, acknowledged and appreciated responses of Primary and Secondary Healthcare department of Punjab for uploading entire information regarding Covid-19 on their website. PIC Commissioner also said that Under Right to Information Act, all government departments are expected to follow health department. The website of Punjab Health department also displayed all expenses related to Corona virus capacity building as well.
