Pregnant women brought to Sobhraj hospital by pushcart
KARACHI, August 09 2006: Patients and their relatives along with the doctors and paramedics of Sohbraj Maternity Hospital (SMH) faced a terrible time during the rains as the water entered the hospital, compelling relatives to bring the pregnant women on push carts, Daily Times learnt Aug 08. The CDGK-run Sohbraj hospital, located near Urdu Bazaar, is constructed at a lower level than that of the adjoining streets and nearby buildings. Even though a main storm water drain runs through the area, rainwater mixed with sewerage water gushed inside the hospital, completely flooding it.
As one of the leading government-owned maternity institutes, most of the doctors are women. Some patients and their relatives said that due to the waist-high stagnant water, the patients had to be taken in and out of the hospital on push carts, as neither stretchers nor ambulances could operate. When contacted, Dr Anwer Kawaja, the medical superintendent (MS) of the SMH, said that the storm water had entered the hospital and its level was waist-high and this was creating a lot of problems for the doctors, paramedic staff and patients.
He said that the patients and the staffers of the hospital had to suffer but it was a natural calamity. The relevant CDGK officials were informed of the situation and asked to raise the level of the hospital’s flooring and also repair the sewerage line immediately, he added. The old doctors, paramedics, nurses and other staffers of the hospital told Daily Times that flooding of the hospital during heavy rains was an old problem. Whenever Karachi receives heavy downpour, waist-high rainwater and patients being brought on push carts is common, they said. However, government officials have yet to pay any attention to the matter, they added.
Moreover, due to rainwater seeping in through the roof of the hospital, the plaster of the walls in some wards has come off. This could be dangerous for the patients and children admitted in the hospital, they said. They warned that if the CDGK did not solve this problem immediately, the SMH could be devastated by more rains.
Source: Daily Times
Date:8/9/2006
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