Pakistan's Healthcare crisis: In Pindi hospitals, no nurses but beds aplenty

The Express Tribune

As if the healthcare services available in the garrison city’s government hospitals were not already problematic, a dire shortage of nursing staff is making matters worse.

Data provided by hospital administrations reveals that the nurse-to-patient ratio in the three hospitals ranges from 1:12 to 1:16 during duty hours.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Nursing Superintendent Mumtaz Begum of Benazir Bhutto Hospital said that the general wards were understaffed to the extent that only one nurse was on duty.

“According to the Pakistan Nursing Council (PNC) criterion, there should be one nurse for 10 beds in general, and six nurses per patient in critical areas such as the intensive care unit, coronary care unit, emergency, dialysis and operation theatres. But here, one nurse is looking after two to five patients,” said Mumtaz. The 400-bed hospital has 155 sanctioned nursing posts, six of which are lying vacant. Moreover, 12 posts for head nurses out of a total of 26 have not been filled.

The data provided shows that 4,000 patients visit the hospital daily. “On average, 300 patients are admitted every day, while 1,200 patients are treated in the emergency wards daily,” said Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Muhammad Asif Raza Chauhan.

“Each nurse is performing the duties of five nurses which is unfair on them and violates rules and regulations,” said a senior doctor at Benazir Bhutto Hospital, requesting anonymity. Considered the biggest medical facility of the city, Holy Family Hospital is also grappling with the overarching dearth of nursing staff.

According to hospital records, the 864-bed facility treated around 1 million patients last year.

It receives 1,500 patients daily, while 250 to 300 patients are admitted on a daily basis. There are currently 269 vacant posts, while 800 nurses are required.

District Headquarters Hospital Deputy Medical Superintendent Dr Ijaz Sohail Chaudhry said, “Keeping in view the number of patients the hospital receives, the number of nursing staff is disproportionately low.” There are 120 nurses in the hospital, although it receives the bulk of the city’s patients relative to other hospitals, he added. However, he was unable to quote accurate figures.

Earlier, Health Adviser to the Punjab Chief Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique had claimed during a press conference in Rawalpindi that at least 13,000 nurses will be recruited for hospitals across the province to improve health services.

Citing this claim, the hospitals administrations have demanded the provincial government to start recruitment at the earliest to ensure the efficient provision of proper healthcare facilities.

According to the PNC website, there are 24 public health nursing schools in the private and public sectors offering basic nursing health programmes.

A report uploaded on the website mentions that one college of nursing was established in 1951, after which it took 30 years to add more.

Three additional colleges were set up in late 1981, while another was established in 2001. It also mentions that over 2,000 registered nurses, 1,200 midwives and 300 plus lady health visitors are trained in the country every year.