Summary The only burns center for south Punjab is located in Multan with just 55 beds. (Photo: AFP).
(Web Desk) - To deal with burn injuries, burn victims in areas of southern Punjab only have the services of one burns center which is located in Multan, according to BBC Urdu.
According to medical experts, the burns center only has around 55 beds which is not enough to fulfill the needs of the large area of southern Punjab. Due to the lack of facilities, after every accident, the burns center is overburdened. This was evident from the Ahmedpur Sharqia oil tanker incident. Ahmedpur Sharqia is located a hundred kilometers away from Multan. The incident caused the deaths of 200 people while 150 people were injured. For the 150 people, the only burns center was a hundred kilometers away with only 55 beds that could only treat one-third of the injured victims if they reached the burns center on time. After the incident, 59 injured people were admitted in Multan while 23 had to be admitted in Jinnah Hospital in Lahore which is a further 350 kilometers away from Multan.
Punjab government plans to build two more burns centers in the province out of which one will be constructed in southern Punjab. According to the project report, the construction of these burns center would take at least two years.
The executive director of Jinnah Burn and Reconstructive Surgery Center informed BBC Urdu that one burn center will be constructed in Rawalpindi while the other will be constructed in Bahawlpur. He said more burn units are under consideration which will be constructed in Lahore.
Dr Tarar further said that the plan to establish these burn centers was formulated before the Ahmedpu sharqia incident took place. According to him, the new burns centers will be constructed on the pattern of the one present in Multan and will incur a cost of 1.5 to 2 billion rupees. The burns center built in Bahawalpur will fulfill the needs of different areas of Lodhran and Multan too.
According to Dr Muazzam, while the burns center in Bahawalpur is being built, Rahim Yar Khan’s Sheikh Zayed Hospital’s Burns Unit can fulfill the needs of the people of the area. Dr Muazzam said that they would strive to further develop existing burns units so that the burden on Multan’s burns center could be reduced.
This article originally appeared in BBC urdu.
