OPDs for non-corona patients under SOPs imperative: PMA expert.

KARACHI -- Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) general secretary and noted ENT surgeon Dr Qaiser Sajjad has said that in Pakistan, the non-corona patients are suffering more than the coronavirus patients and it is now overdue to open OPDs for these patients under strict SOPs to mitigate their plights. He said millions of non-corona patients and their families are facing a nightmarish situation, adding catering Covid patients at the cost of non corona patients non acceptable.

Dr Sajjad said simple non-corona patients of ENT, ophthalmology, cardiac diseases, orthopedics, diabetes, pediatrics and other diseases are facing a great agony as OPD and consultation services are simply not available to them. he said these patients have to go to emergency rooms of tertiary-care hospitals, where they have to wait for hours till some specialist doctor on call see them. Talking to PPI, he regretted that many specialist on-call doctors avoid to see these patients and they do not get the required care and treatment. He said private hospitals only entertain rich patients who can afford their whooping fees. He said 98percent population of Pakistan cannot afford to visit private facilities and closing down OPD services in government hospitals is a cruelty to these patients.

Dr Sajjad suggested to open all OPS services under strict SOPs after ensuring PPEs for health providers and seating arrangements in waiting halls as per social distancing principles. In this regard even holding evening and night OPDs if possible is also recommended to reduce rush and crowding of patients. He said all patients must be given free of cost treatment in government hospitals, as the coronavirus pandemic have already rendered millions of people jobless in Pakistan. He said the PMA has been demanding to upgrade all district hospitals to teaching hospital level, so that patients should be treated near their homes and they should not travel to megacity Karachi for their medical treatment. The concept of freestanding emergency rooms should be implemented at grassroots level to improve emergency healthcare cover.

He said as an ENT specialist he has personally witnessed sorrowful stories on non-corona patients, who are...