LAHORE – Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Outdoor Patients Department (OPD) ward boy Akhtar Hussain was diagnosed with dengue fever on Tuesday. He is the second dengue patient in Lahore this year after Dr Maryam, a Mayo Hospital medical student. Akhtar was suffering from dengue fever for around a week and on-duty Medical Officer (MO) Dr Waseen after adviseing him to conduct IGG and IGM tests to diagnose dengue refused to admit him without permission of senior doctors.
Akhtar said he had been suffering from fever for more than five days and on duty doctors neglected him. On Monday, when unable to perform duty, doctors advised rest. Akhtar claimed he was affected due to absence of fumigation in public-sector hospitals. The Punjab Health Department and CDGL did not target public-sector sector hospitals for fumigation despite the suspension of former health executive district officer Dr Fiaz Ranjha over the same issue last year. Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Ijaz Sheikh said that doctors on-duty advised Akhtar to remain in isolation due to which they did not admit him.
He said only when a patients’ platelet count reaches 10,000, he is advised a “mega unit.” In other cases he is advised to stay at home. Ijaz said that it is not necessary to admit every patient suffering from dengue fever. The MS said that the hospital administration had arranged all requirements for dengue patients, including separate wards. Health Executive District Officer (EDO) Dr Umar Farooq Baloch told Pakistan Today that fumigation in every hospital was not their responsibility and the district government could not cover all public-sector hospitals.
He said that the medical superintendent of every public-sector hospital has to pay special attention towards combating dengue by purchasing medicine machine and carrying out fumigation in hospitals. He said that the EDO health office only deals with affected patients and relevant wards.
