GUJRANWALA: The DHQ Teaching Hospital’s cardiac, outdoor, and indoor emergency departments have been shuttered for five months in order to undergo repairs. Even though the deadline for completing the repairs has been moved three times, the job is still not done.
However, June 30th has been designated as the new completion date. As a result, despite the fact that DHQ Civil Hospital provided reasonably priced healthcare to the 25 lakh urban residents of Gujranwala as well as the people residing in hundreds of nearby villages, individuals are compelled to seek care in private hospitals and clinics.
Five departments of the DHQ Civil Hospital were shut down for maintenance in November 2023. Subsequently, the medical college in Gondlanwala was the new location for all departments, including Emergency, ENT, Ophthalmology, Respiratory and Thoracic, TB, Orthopedic, Paediatrics, Maternal and Child, Radiology, Cardiology, Urgent Diseases, Gastroenterology, General Physician, Kidney and Bladder, and Surgery (both in- and out-of-doors). The public also found this to be inconvenient. By February 4, 2024, as promised by the district administration and the caretaker government, all hospital departments were not reopened. The management of the medical college and the government then set a deadline of March 31 for the restoration of the hospital departments, but this deadline was also missed.
Currently, patients must pay rickshaw pullers Rs. 500 to travel 17 kilometers to the medical college for treatment. The district government had stated that a shuttle service will be provided to take people from the city to the medical college, along with the allocation of a local transit route. Both of the claims haven’t been formalized yet, though.
In addition, moving patients this far is an agonizing process; additionally, the hospital remains closed despite the date of three months later being announced once more. Individuals with heart, orthopedic, or mental health conditions are unable to go that far and must have care in the private sector by taking out large loans.
Principal Dr. Raqbal Dogar of Gujranwala Medical College stated that C&W has been urged to expedite the work in this regard. The C&W team visited the hospital and provided updates on the circumstances. The date of June 30 has been set, according to the most recent updates, but attempts will be made to relocate radiology, cardiology, and other departments as soon as feasible.
