All ventilators in Gujranwala, 81.5pc in Lahore occupied: Govt
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Sunday that almost all ventilators in Gujranwala were occupied while the occupancy rate in Lahore was 81.5pc, adding however, that the health department was making efforts to shore up facilities. She provided the details during a press conference held in Lahore to update the public regarding the coronavirus situation in the province.
Giving details of healthcare facilities, Rashid said that there were 2,730 beds in district headquarters hospitals (DHQs) in Punjab of which around 600 were currently occupied. There were 97 ventilators in the DHQs of which 20 were in use, she added.
"All facilities and
human resources are available," she assured. The minister said that the infectivity rate in Lahore, which had been significantly high previously, had now been reduced in comparison to other cities for which she credited the district administration's efforts to ensure strict compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs).
"There is a lot of noise that the conditions in Lahore are bad," Rashid said, sharing that 30 areas of the city were under smart lockdown. "On April 25, we had 1,340 patients admitted in hospitals and today, we have 1,149. The number of patients has decreased a bit. Occupancy of oxygen beds was 72pc, now it is 42pc." She said that the provincial government had provided 50 ventilators to public sector hospitals in Lahore, stressing that "there has been no interruption in oxygen, no problem was created."
Rashid said that 280 beds had been added to the high dependency unit (HDU) at Lahore's Expo Centre while 10 ventilators were also being added as a "backup option" in case the city's hospitals were strained.
"If we have a problem right now, it is Gujranwala," she said where almost 100pc of the ventilators were occupied. Talking about the health department's efforts to tackle the situation, she said that five ventilators had been sent to the city while ambulances equipped with ventilators were also being prepared to transport patients from Gujranwala to Lahore if needed.
"We held a meeting with the private sector in Lahore three days ago and received a very positive response. In the private sector, we have 300 high flow oxygen beds in teaching hospitals. We are receiving support of 300 beds and 30 ventilators from the private sector which they have said they will not take charges for."
In addition, private sector hospitals would also fix charges for Covid-19 treatment so there would be no complaints, Rashid said. Moving on to other cities, the health minister said the ventilator occupancy rate in Multan stood at 88pc, followed by Sargodha at 80pc, Bahawalpur at 52pc, Dera Ghazi Khan at 39pc and Faisalabad at 38pc. She clarified that there was no problem in meeting the province's oxygen demands. "Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology generates its own oxygen to fulfil its need.