Rawalpindi: Shahbaz likely to inaugurate 'Institute of Psychiatry' at BB Hospital

[Naveed Yaseen]

ICU shifted to new building

Thursday, August 06, 2009
Muhammad Qasim

Rawalpindi

Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif is likely to inaugurate new block of Institute of Psychiatry at Benazir Bhutto Hospital (BBH) during his visit to the town.

Head of Institute of Psychiatry Professor Dr. Fareed Aslam Minhas told ‘The News’ that District Coordination Officer, Rawalpindi, Imdadullah Bosal recently visited the institute and informed him that the Punjab CM might visit the institute on August 6 or 7.

He said that construction work at the new block has already been finalised and installation of equipment and furniture in the block is in final stage. “We have made all necessary arrangements for the inauguration and we would be able to make new block functional soon after the inauguration.”

The Institute of Psychiatry which also serves as WHO Collaborating Center for Mental Health Research and Training in whole of the East Mediterranean Region had to complete construction work on new block solely on self-help basis as the Punjab government contributed not a single penny for the project. The construction of new block covering a total area of 30,000 square feet cost around Rs50 million of which the institute collected slightly above Rs12 million through public donations while the rest has been arranged by the head of the institute.

Also ahead of the CM’s expected visit to the BBH, the hospital administration has taken over the newly constructed building of Intensive Care Unit that was supposed to be handed over to the hospital before June 30 by the provincial building department. The BBH has been operating only a four-bedded Intensive Care Unit that has not been up-graded for more than a decade while the influx of patients at the hospital has almost doubled within past one decade.

“Blood Bank of the BBH has already been shifted to the new building of the ICU while shifting of present set-up of the four-bedded ICU to the new building is in progress,” said Additional Medical Superintendent (Works) at the BBH Dr. Shahid Raza Butt while talking to ‘The News’ Wednesday. He claimed that the ICU in the new building would be operational before Thursday (today).

To a query, he said the Punjab CM might visit the ICU on August 6 or 7. “The new ICU has a capacity of 15 beds,” said Dr. Butt. The 15-bedded ICU would have consultants’ offices in it along with observatory station and inventories like medical and equipment store.

It is important that the BBH is going to have an approved ICU in it for the first time as it had been working without approved ICU since its establishment in 1980. The four to six bedded ICU being operated at the BBH was arranged locally with the cooperation of a non-government organisation.

The existing ICU at the BBH is operating under supervision of anaesthesia department with main support on the subject of staff from Surgery and gynaecology departments. The BBH has no staff for ICU and the doctors from concerned units themselves look after their patients in the present set-up of ICU, however the government has taken no steps as yet to resolve the problem of shortage of staff at the hospital.

Sources informed ‘The News’ that the hospital administration had submitted request for staff to the provincial health department under Schedule of New Establishment (SNE), however no action has yet been taken on the subject. The sources said that the BBH would run the new set-up of ICU with the help of existing staff.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=191663