The oncology department of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) does not have an isolation ward to accommodate cancer patients after conducting chemotherapy owing to which patients are being kept in gastro wards. The department is also running out of space as it consists of eight beds, four each for female and male patients. On the other hand, around 20 patients visit the oncology department on a daily basis. A visit to the oncology department reveals that there is no proper system of cleanliness in place; the air conditioning system has gone out of whack and the ward does not have a proper ventilation system. There only one washroom for eight patients and their attendants stinks. “Due to a common washroom there are high chances of chemo patients getting infected,” an official in the oncology department told Pakistan Today on the condition of anonymity.
“In the absence of a proper and separate ward for cancer patients, we keep them in the gastro ward along with others and there are high chances of cancer patients getting infected as their immunity level decreases after chemotherapy,” he said. He said that chemotherapy patients need rest and silence after the painful process, but for lack of a separate ward we cannot give them such facilities.
He added that they also lacked doctors, medical officers (MOs) and nurses to take care of patients as there was only one medical officer and two house job doctors whereas there should be at least two medical officers and four house job doctors. Talking about the nurses, he said there was no specialised chemo nurse available in the oncology department. “There is only one little store-type chemo room where no bed is available except a chemo bed-cum-chair. The patients go through the chemo process while sitting in the chair,” he said.
When contacted, PIMS Indoor Deputy Director Dr Robina Kamran said when this hospital was established, the number of cancer patients was very low, so no isolation ward or unit was established, but as the number of such patients was increasing fast, the ward needs to be rebuilt. “Only Dr Qasim Mahmood Buttar, the head of oncology department, can move a summary for this purpose, but being overburdened, he could not initiate this process, otherwise administration will fully support his initiative in this regard,” she said.
On the other hand, Dr Qasim was of the view that he highlighted the issue with the administration time and again, telling them the department lacked a separate chemo room, isolation ward, trained doctors and nurses, but he was told that they could not do anything due to a shortage of funds.
According to Pakistan Society of Clinical Oncologists, in developing countries like Pakistan, cancer would be a leading cause of deaths by the year 2015 as a majority of patients could not afford the high cost of treatment. About 75 percent of cancer patients are found in these countries having only 5 percent of the resources to fight cancer. It is worth mentioning here that, according to Economic Survey of Pakistan 2009-10, up to 360,000 persons are suffering from cancer in Pakistan, and about 53,000 new cancer cases are reported every year. One out of every nine women in Pakistan has breast cancer.
