Sindh government does not have any concrete plan to counter outbreak of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever (VHF)/dengue fever, in winter. The health department had not invested any money for building capacity for treatment of dengue. The health department had ordered to set up isolation wards for dengue patients, however, there were no doctors and para medical staff members deployed at dengue wards in Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH). Per reports there were 227 patients diagnosed with dengue in Sindh till September 30. Of the total registered dengue patients in the province, 225 were in Karachi. were still admitted in public and private hospital but visit of some hospitals proved government stance an eye-wash. Pakistan today learnt that in all of the above mentioned hospitals, there were no dengue patients under treatment and there were no doctors and nurses on duty at dengue wards. Official records showed that there were 10 dengue patients under treatment at the three hospitals. No one at knows where the CHK dengue ward had been set up. When the scribe visited CHK, neither outdoor patients nor did the staff knew where the dengue ward was apart from being in papers. Provincial dengue surveillance cell was also set up at CHK. When CHK Deputy Medical Superintendent (DMS) Dr Shan-e-Alam was asked by Pakistan Today to show it the dengue ward he claimed to be functional, he asked the publication to get admission rights from Focal Person of Dengue Surveillance Cell (DSC) or Additional Medical Superintendent (AMS) Shakil Malik. Later, DMS CHK Dr Shan-e-Alam sent the scribe to a dengue ward set up in Sindh Services Hospital (SSH), where only a doctor and a nurse had been deputed. Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad had no isolated ward for dengue patients and a couple of dengue patients admitted at the hospital were admitted at general wards. The hospital had claimed that it had set up separate wards to treat dengue patients. At Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, an isolated dengue ward was commissioned at first floor but no dengue patients were undertreatment at the facility. Sources at ASH on condition of anonymity told PT that an employee of the hospital was diagnosed with dengue and the hospital authorities sent him to a private hospital for treatment due to lack of facilities at ASH. Talking to PT, Nuresh, the ASH employee suffering from dengue confirmed that he was told not to report on duty at ASH until he recovered from dengue and said that he was under treatment at Dow University of Health Sciences, Ojha Campus. Talking to PT, SGHL MS Dr Jamal Sheikh said that the hospital had reserved eight beds for dengue patients. He said that SGHL was fully equipped to treat the dengue virus and said that the ward was empty because the last dengue patient admitted at the hospital was discharged on Thursday. Dengue Surveillance Cell Sindh (DSCS) Focal Person and CHK Additional Medical Superintendent Dr M Shakil Mullick were confident that dengue was under control in the province as only 250 people caught the virus since January. Sindh government had sanctioned funds to set up dengue isolation wards at :Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), Lyari General Hospital (LGH), Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad (SGHL), Sindh Government Hospital Saudabad (SGHS) and Sindh Government Hospital Korangi (SGHK). Karachi Municipal cooperation’s (KMC) Abbasi Shaheed Hospital also has an isolation ward. Dr Mullick said that “most VHF patients visit out-patient departments (OPDs) and they prefer to complete the VHF medication courses at their houses over being admitted in hospitals. Commenting on a question regarding non seriousness of health authorites on isolation wards for dengue patients he said that “if a patient is stable then he or she does not need to be shifted at isolation wards as dengue cant spread in hygienic places such hospital wards”.
