Corona in Pakistan: Fear, Rumor and Creaking Health System

Doctors in Pakistan have warned that the already weak health system may collapse due to corona virus patients.

So far, the death toll due to corona in Pakistan is less than 2000. Initially, what people thought, Pakistan has not yet been affected.

But the speed with which new cases are increasing, mortality is also increasing and lockdown restrictions have been lifted, doctors feel that ICU patients of many big hospitals are almost full.

According to statistics, only a few beds are available for Covid-19 patients in Karachi. The population of Karachi is around 10 million.

In Lahore, a doctor told how he had to return a patient when he needed a ventilator. The patient was not admitted by two other hospitals.

The health workers of Peshawar and Quetta also say that they are under similar pressure.

Officials are assuming that some hospitals do not have space, but they are insisting that a large number of beds are still available. Officials say that they are giving information to people about which beds are available in which hospital.

Many reasons for concern

In Karachi, work of arranging other places for patients is going on. But doctors are worried about the increasing number of serious patients.

He also says that due to lack of trust and the theory of many kinds of intrigue, his efforts to treat patients are being hampered.

A top Quetta doctor told, “Many sick people want to stay home. When their condition becomes severe, then they come to the hospital. That is why many patients die as soon as they reach the hospital. In many cases, patients die in ambulances. We do not even get the opportunity to treat many patients. “

There is also a concern about the health system. Many patients and their families do not want to be quarantined, so in many places the market of rumors is hot. There is also a rumor that the World Health Organization (WHO) is giving money to doctors and doctors are deliberately telling people infected with corona virus.

On the condition of anonymity, a doctor in Karachi told that one of his friends recently asked him for advice and said, “My son has flu and fever.” But I do not want to take him to the hospital. Because doctors are telling every fever as corona and they charge 500 rupees per corona patient. ”

This may sound ridiculous to you, but its dangerous results are coming and this is not just for the patients. In many hospitals in Karachi, Peshawar and Lahore, relatives of patients have attacked health workers.

Attack on Health Workers

An employee at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center in Karachi was beaten up by the people because the body of the patient could not be given immediately to the next of kin.

In Pakistan, the funeral is usually done as soon as possible. According to Islamic tradition, a large number of people are usually involved in massacres. But this is not possible in deaths from corona.

A top doctor Yahya Tunio told that health workers are fighting the corona virus as well as the ignorance of the people.

Dr Jamal Awan, who works at Mayo Hospital in Lahore, said that due to many violent incidents, the security of the hospital had to be increased. They say that people are showing resentment due to lack of resources, they are also afraid that doctors are killing patients by injecting poison.

Another doctor Amara Khalid was present when relatives of another patient attacked the health workers.

Once, a patient’s family was told that an ICU bed with ventilator facility was not available. The patient was in critical condition and later died.

Amara Khalid, the doctor on duty at the time, told the BBC that 20-30 people tried to attack the hospital staff. According to Dr. Amara, many people were shouting – “If the corona virus is true, then why wouldn’t  you have corona?”

Doctor Amara’s husband is also a doctor and he was present at the hospital at that time. He was pushed to the ward and asked to perform CPR of the patient, while he did not have any security equipment.

Demand of Doctors

He demanded that there should be a need to increase awareness among the people, the security of hospital staff should be better and it should also be banned that relatives of patients should not be able to come to the hospital in such large numbers.

He told, “At that time I was very scared. After that incident we thought of leaving the job, but we cannot do it. If everyone leaves the job, then who will work?”

In fact, hundreds of doctors in Pakistan are also infected with Corona. There are also reports that at least 30 health workers have also died.

In a large hospital in Peshawar, the entire gynaecology department had to be temporarily closed, as many employees of this department were found to be corona infected.

A doctor from this hospital told the BBC that a total of 100 of his colleagues have been found corona infected, while most of these coronas were not even doing the work of infected patients.

Safety Device

He said that the level of security equipment has improved, but he would have to share the face shield with his colleagues.  In turn, these people use the same shield in their respective shifts.

He expressed concern over the lack of kits for health workers who are not directly involved in the treatment of corona infection, but who care for other patients and are never investigated.

Many doctors say that the worst phase of the epidemic has not yet come. He also expressed disappointment over how the lockdown restrictions were lifted last month.

Doctors are also worried that life outside the hospital is becoming normal. Doctor Rizwan Saigal, who works at the Mayo Hospital in Lahore, said that even before the Corona epidemic, he used to see many people begging for ventilators and now the situation is very scary.

They say that if the corona cases continue to grow in Pakistan, then our hospitals will be filled. We do not have enough ICUs or ventilators.

Question regarding relaxation in lockdown

However, Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the lockdown was proving too expensive for those who are already very poor.

Earlier this week, in his television message, he said, “25 percent of our country’s population lives below the poverty line. That is the number of such people is 5 crores and they do not have any bread for two times. If we implement the lockdown like Wuhan and Europe, what will happen to them? “

Imran Khan appealed to the people to follow the rules of social distancing. They have made it mandatory to wear masks in public places. Many times there has been a dispute with their local authorities about this. One of them is Sindh province, whose power is with the opposition. Sindh had imposed a strict lockdown in March itself.

Doctor Yahya Tunio, who works at the Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center in Karachi, says cases of corona infection have increased due to looseness of lockdown restrictions.

He told that ICU beds are full in his hospital and new patients have to be sent to another place. But other hospitals also share the same condition. This is a very stressful and stressful situation.

Another health worker is worried that he will not infect his relatives at his home. She is working for hours and hours in hazmat suits in high temperatures.

But she becomes more worried when she sees a large number of people roaming the streets.

She says, “This is going to hurt the heart a lot. Under stringent circumstances we are working for those who are not even taking care of themselves. We are still engaged in our work.”