ISLAMABAD: Despite a huge influx of COVID-19 patients, public hospitals across Pakistan are providing usual health care services to expectant mothers by observing strict precautionary measures, senior health officials claimed while talking to Arab News on Tuesday, though their assertion was called into question by women who maintained they faced problems during their recent visits to public health facilities.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, Pakistan, the world’s sixth most populous country, has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in South Asia.
“The health ministry has prepared comprehensive guidelines for the continuation of reproductive and maternal health services during the COVID-19 pandemic with the help of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Pakistan (SOGP). These guidelines are based on a combination of available evidence from the World Health Organization (WHO) and adapted from The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (RCOG) rules,” Dr. Atiya Aabroo, deputy director at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, told Arab News.
She added that all major hospitals were required to reduce the number of unnecessary visits of patients by diverting them to primary health care centers.
However, the situation is alarmingly serious in certain parts of the country.
“We closed the gynecology unit of the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) on May 5 after more than 20 of its staffers, including five doctors, tested positive,” said Dr. Nabi Afridi, senior vice president of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party’s forum of doctors, who looks after the coronavirus response strategy for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa administration.
“It is hard to follow precautions at the LRG gynecology wards since it is the largest hospital in the province and hugely overburdened,” he told Arab News, adding that the administration had opened both wards of the hospital after taking necessary measures.
“We are not taking any maternity case without the COVID-19 test to save our staff and other women,” he added.
Dr. Mahmood Ayyaz, principal of the Services Institute of Medical Sciences Lahore, told Arab News that his hospital was trying to accommodate maximum number of cases, though it had “established strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) for mother and childcare.”
“In view of the pandemic, we have established a separate unit for neonatal babies, but it has limited capacity. Every expectant woman is considered a potential COVID-19 carrier and is tested for the coronavirus,” he continued, adding that many women come straight to the hospital emergency unit and are sometimes taken to a special operation theatre where doctors and paramedics handle delivery cases after wearing full protective gear.
However, Nabila Tauqeer, a resident of Lahore, said she was always full of anxiety during her visits to the Services Hospital, noting: “I feel a bit nervous since I am always scared of catching the virus. Members of the medical staff insist that people wear face masks and socially distance themselves, but many women do not take these precautions.”
“The other problem,” she added, “is the facility layout. The ultrasound department, which we frequently visit, is uncomfortably close to the corona center.”
The spokesperson of Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) Islamabad, Dr. Waseem Khawaja, said the hospital was only taking booked cases after screening them from COVID-19 symptoms.
“Our doctors evaluate every woman for these symptoms before admitting her,” he said. “If someone has the symptoms, we test them for the virus.”
Khawaja also informed that the hospital staff took necessary protective measures in the operation theaters, wards and nursery for newborns.
However, a 30-year-old housemaid, Sumera Ramzan, told Arab News that she could not find a single hospital in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad for her delivery.
“I went to PIMS but was turned away since they had no space due to the surge of COVID-19 cases. I visited almost all public hospitals in the twin cities, but all of them refused for the same reason,” she told Arab News.
“I had to risk my life and went to a midwife since I could not afford a good private hospital,” she added.
Another resident of Lahore, Zainab Naveed, said she had to go to a private hospital due to the hygiene and safety issues at public health facilities.
“I decided to go to the Fatima Memorial Hospital after a couple of visits to the Mayo Hospital since it was not safe. But the private facility charged me nearly double the amount due to the coronavirus outbreak. Previously, women were paying Rs 2,000 for a visit, but the rate jumped to Rs 3,500. Similarly, admission and other service charges also went up significantly,” she said.
