1000m Beds Added In KP's Hospitals For Covid Patients: Health Minister

Minister for Health and Finance Taimur Salim Jhagra on Friday said the provincial government was taking tangible measures to overcome the spread of Covid 19 and providing 1000 more beds in hospitals of the province for corona patients

PESHAWAR, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 2nd Apr, 2021 ) :Minister for Health and Finance Taimur Salim Jhagra on Friday said the provincial government was taking tangible measures to overcome the spread of Covid 19 and providing 1000 more beds in hospitals of the province for corona patients.

Addressing a press conference in the Civil Secrete along with Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Information, Public Relations and Higher education Kamran Khan Bangash, the provincial health minister said the rate of corona cases had increased in the central areas of the province and the government was extending a facility to people of the province to get Corona treatment through Sehat Card Plus, which would extend a massive relief to the poor segments of society, he added.

He said that 1000 more beds for corona patients would be provided to hospitals of the province over the next two to three weeks.

He said that the government was struggling to tame the disease while keeping the economy afloat, adding the government had no intention to impose complete lockdown in this regard.

He urged people to adhere to all prescribed Covid 19 guidelines and precautionary measures to curb spread of the pandemic.

He said the provincial government was providing maximum relief to the people and added corona patients would also be treated through Shehat Card Plus for which instructions had been issued by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan.

He said talks were held with the State Life Insurance Corporation in this regard and the same would be discussed again, adding the treatment of corona patients through Sehat Card Plus would also attract the private sector and increase its capacity to treat Corona patients.

He also lauded the media for playing a positive role during the Corona epidemic and said the public needed to change its attitude towards the epidemic. "We have to get in the habit of wearing masks and SOPs everywhere," he added.

The provincial health minister said that in the northeastern part of the country, which includes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Kashmir, third of wave of corona was intensifying while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan Swabi and Swat have the highest prevalence of coronavirus.

He said that a new 500-bed medical block was being allocated for corona patients at Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar with increased number of beds ICU and HDU.

Similarly, Hayatabad Medical Complex will have more than 200 corona beds while the capacity of Nishtarabad Corona Hospital will also be doubled.

He said that the newly constructed Women and Children's Hospital, where had earlier a Covid ward, was being re-allocated for Corona patients. He said that a 32-bed ICU and HDU would be set up in Women and Children's Hospital Charsadda in the next three days while wards with 200 more oxygen beds would be set up in the next two weeks.

He said the hospital already had a central oxygen supply system installed. With this move, Corona patients from Charsadda would not have to turn to Peshawar while patients from Women and Children's Hospital were being shifted to District Headquarters Hospital.

Taimur Jhagra said that in the next two weeks, a 200-bed corona ward was being set up in the newly constructed block of Mardan District Health Quarter Hospital, while the Mardan Medical Complex already had more than 150 corona beds.

Regarding the treatment capacity for corona patients in Swabi, the provincial minister said that the number of corona beds in Bacha Khan Medical Complex would also be doubled while the number of beds in Cap Category D Hospital was being increased from 40 to 120.

Similarly, the capacity of MTI hospitals in Swat and Nowshera was also being enhanced.

While Special Assistant to the Chief Minister for Information and Higher Education Kamran Bangash said that there was no intention of a complete lockdown. The provincial government was trying to keep the wheel of the economy running, but the people have to implement Corona SOPs and government initiatives so that we can protect ourselves, our loved ones and society from this epidemic.

Kamran Bangash said the rate of positive cases in many parts of the province was increasing and controlling the epidemic required the cooperation of the business community and the public, he added.