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Monday October 31st, 2005
Following
an informal meeting held on 30th October 2005 to decide on future
KLWT plans and based on Mr. Mahboob Elahi’s first hand information, it was
considered necessary to investigate further what role, help and contribution
could be made by KLWT to alleviate the suffering of paraplegic earthquake
victims admitted at District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital, Rawalpindi.
11.0pt">DHQ Hospital is a
tertiary referral hospital where many of the earthquake survivors with
neurological damage were evacuated. A visit was arranged to DHQ Hospital
Rawalpindi under the guidance of Dr Shoaib Shafi (Prof. Of Surgery,
Rawalpindi Medical College). Other than Dr Shoaib Shafi, discussions were
held with Dr Iram, Dr Shehzad Manzoor, Dr Arif Malik, Dr Nadeem Akhtar and
the MS DHQ Hospital Rawalpindi.
There are
currently a total of 80 paraplegic patients at DHQ Hospital who require long
term (minimum of 6 months) intensive nursing, physiotherapy and
rehabilitation treatment. 18 of these patients are being transferred to a
specialised rehabilitation centre in Lahore. Of the remaining 62 patients,
38 are men and 24 are women. The average age of these patients lies between
28-30 years.
HOSPITAL
NEEDS
DHQ
Hospital Rawalpindi is the only tertiary hospital in Rawalpindi with a
neurosurgery department (i.e there is no formal neurosurgery department in
RGH and Holy Family Hospital)
NEUROSURGERY OPERATION THEATRE AND ICU:
The
Neurosurgery department requires the following equipment for their Operation
Theatre and ICU:
- Image intensifier
(C-Arm) (estimated cost is Rs. 4.0 million)
- Pneumatic Surgical
Drills (estimated cost is Rs. 1.5 million)
- Spinal Surgery
Instruments and supplements (estimated cost is Rs. 1.0 million)
- Ventilator x 2
(estimated cost per unit is Rs. 0.5 million)
- Blood Gas Analyser
(estimated cost is Rs. 1.5 million)
- Personnel O.T assistant
- O.T nurse
- Ward nurse
- Physiotherapy assistant/ aid (Rs. 5000-7000/ month per personnel)
PARAPLEGIC
PATIENTS WARD
As there
have not been such a large numbers of paraplegic patients simultaneously
admitted in the hospital before, there is limited provision in DHQ Hospital
to effectively treat these patients in such numbers. Hence the TBC Ward (Tuberculoisis
and Chest Diseases Ward) has been converted in to the ward housing the
Paraplegic patients. The existing Tuberculosis patients have been either
discharged or transferred to Sanghli TB Sanatorium near Murree.
The
following items are required immediately for the establishment of proper
ward for the spinal injury and paraplegic patients:
- Hospital
beds
- Air
mattresses
- Special
beds for spinal injury patients
- Wheel
chairs (not required immediately but required in 2 months time)
- Training
of paramedics and nursing staff in rehabilitation medicine
- 2-3
weeks on job consultancy and staff training by an experienced doctor
having specialised in rehabilitation medicine.
-
Installation of TV screens and TV network for admitted patients.
- Funds to
employ additional doctors, nursing staff, paramedics, physiotherapists and
cleaning staff to have the requisite number of staff members to run the
ward in a proper professional manner.
REHABILITATION CENTRE
A complete list of equipment, training aids and physiotherapy equipment
will be required to establish a basic rehabilitation centre for the already
admitted paraplegic earthquake victims. The list of items required was not
available with the doctors interviewed as they lacked the specialised
knowledge on rehabilitation medicine. They are however in consultation with
a doctor colleague in
Lahore who will advise them of the items and equipment required along with
the trained and specialised personnel to run an effective rehabilitation
centre.
In addition to the traditionally perceived requirements of a
rehabilitation centre, clinical psychiatrists and psychotherapists will also
be required for the rehabilitation purposes. Artificial limbs are another
important aspect to be considered for a rehabilitation centre, although most
orthopaedic or amputation cases were dealt with in the other Hospitals of
Rawalpindi.
The above summary is the initial finding based on the interviews
conducted with the doctors concerned. It would be appropriate to mention
that the staff at DHQ
Hospital, in particular Dr Shoaib Shafi, Dr Iram, Dr Shehzad Manzoor and Dr
Arif Malik are a dedicated team of doctors whose efforts and enthusiasm is
inspiring and needs to be not only acknowledged but also supported.
Any and all equipment donated to DHQ Hospital will be formally
entered into the inventory register of the hospital. Through this, the
donations given will then become property of the government and the
government will then be responsible for the maintenance and repair of the
donated equipment.
DONATION OF FUNDS
It is
recommended that the funds required to hire various staff and purchase
miscellaneous items should be given directly to the doctors managing the
wards. The concerned doctors would then utilise the funds in accordance to
their needs and at their own discretion. The credibility of Dr Shoaib Shafi
and Dr Iram is unquestionable.
Dr Arif Malik (Neurosurgeon) had been offered two image intensifiers
(C-Arm) by a Dr Zafar fromUSA. However, the donation was
withheld on grounds that the power input (50 Hz, 110v) was not compatible
with the mains voltage supply in Pakistan. It has been explained to Dr Arif
Malik that a power supply/transformer is available in the local market (and
promised to be donated by KLWT) to fulfil the necessary electrical
conversion requirements. For the appropriate power supply/transformer, the
current rating of the image intensifier is required.
Dr Neelam Khan & Dr Ayaz Khan
Dated: Monday 31st Oct
2005. |
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