KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah inaugurated newly established 200-bedded Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital that would start formal operation with 54 beds and within the next six weeks it would work at 200-bedded capacity. “I am upgrading its status as Research Centers so that necessary research in the Coronavirus and such other diseases could be undertaken, therefore now its name would be Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital & Research Centre.”
This he said here on Sunday at Sindh Infectious Diseases Hospital & Research Centre, NIPA which he inaugurated. He was accompanied by Minister Health Dr. Azra, Minister Information Nasir Shah. The 400-bedded hospital has been constructed for Rs.1736.359 million at NIPA. After the pandemic, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah decided to convert it into an Infectious Disease Hospital. He released special assistance to the health department so that it could be made operational. Taking personal interest, the chief minister visited the incomplete structure of the hospital thrice within two months and got its Block A & B completed. The Block-C, ground plus five, is yet to be completed.
Mr. Shah handed over the task of execution and management to the Dow University of Health Sciences. The vice-chancellor Dow University, Prof Saeed Qureshi personally got all the hospital equipment installed to make it functional. In the first phase, 200-bedded hospitals housed in Block-A and B have been completed with a special grant released to the Dow University to functionalize it on the most urgent basis. At present, the works of Ground and First floor of Block A & B is complete and has been inaugurated by Sindh Chief Minister with his visit on Sunday. The work includes the HVAC system which is based upon the principles required for any modern infectious diseases hospital.
In two floors inaugurated by the chief minister total of 54 beds will be functional as an eight-bedded ground floor emergency, 16 bedded ICU with ventilator support, and 34 HDU beds. In the next, 2nd and 3rd floor which will be made functional within the next 6 weeks, there will be 32 ICU beds and 88 HDU beds. In addition to these beds, there are radiology services which include one 500 MA x-ray machine, one mobile x-ray unit, one ultrasound machine, and one mobile ultrasound unit. There is a complete pharmacy service including I.V. Admixture Pharmacy. Machinery and equipment made available in the hospital, including brand new 16 Ventilators, 200 Monitors with a telemetry system, 50 BIPAP, 10 CPAP, six Defibrillators, six ECG machines, Complete Oxygen, air, and vacuum system for each bed with supply from VIE Tank, one Arterial Blood Gas (ABG) Machine and related equipment.
The human resources posted in the hospital in the first phase include one Medical Superintendent, One Additional Medical Superintendent, One Manager (Finance and Accounts), One Assistant Administrator. Among the clinical staff, there is One Assistant Professor Infectious Disease, One Senior Registrar Infectious Disease, Two Critical Care Consultants, Three Junior Critical Care Consultants, One Manger Infectious Control, One Manager Nursing, 15 Medical Officers, Nurses, Five ICU Technicians, Four Pharmacy Technicians, 15 War boy. The Janitorial and Security Services are contracted out.
The chief minister said that he has established two hospitals for Coronavirus patients in Karachi and now other hospitals would be established in every divisional headquarters. COVID-19 situation: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah sharing COVID-19 situation report said that 2222 new cases of coronavirus were detected when 10705 tests were conducted which constituted a 21 percent detection rate. He added that so far 502426 samples have been tested against which 94528 cases were diagnosed all over Sindh. The overall detection rate is 9 percent, he said.
According to Mr. Shah, 25 more patients died due to COVID-19 lifting the death toll to 1526 that constituted 1.6 percent. He added that 777 more patients recovered and returned to normal life. The number of patients who have recovered so far come to 53165 which constitutes 56 percent recovery rate, he said. The CM said that currently, 39837 patients were under treatment, of the 37875 were in home isolation, 340 at Isolation Centers, and 1622 at different hospitals of the province. He added that 623 patients were stated to be in critical condition, of the 74 have been shifted onto the ventilators.
Mr. Shah said that out of 2222 new cases, Karachi has 770. He added that East has 237, South 156, Central 126, Korangi 113, Malir 72, and West 66. The chief minister said that Ghotki has 294, Sukkur 128, Kambar 80, Shaheed Benazirabad 75, Dadu 73, Khairpur 61, Badin 57, T.M Khan 54, Sanghar 51, Kashmore 50, Hyderabad 50, Larkana 48, Mirpurkhas 37, Tando Allahyar 36, Khairpur 33, Jacobabad 15, Matiari 14, Naushehroferoze and Jamshoro 11 each, Thatta six, Sujawal five and Umerkot four. Murad Ali Shah said that the cases of local transmission were on the rise in Ghotki, Sukkur, Kambar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Dadu, Khairpur, and Badin. He directed district administration of all the districts to take extraordinary measures to control the situation. “The rise in the cases is the result of disregard to the SOPS,” he concluded.
