Peshawar
The Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH), a leading public sector hospital in Peshawar, has been strengthened in terms of healthcare services, equipment, faculty and medicines to combat COVID-19. Located opposite to the University of Peshawar on the historic route leading up to Khyber Pass, the hospital has been playing a pivotal role since its inception to provide quality healthcare services to patients of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and even from Afghanistan.
Dealing successfully with the emergencies of devastating earthquake of 2005 and 2010 floods, war against terrorism, dengue fever or the current coronavirus pandemic, the hospital has always rose to the occasion. Established in 1976, the KTH has been strengthened due to the health reforms introduced by PTI government under the Medical Teaching Institutions (MTI) Reforms Act 2015. The reforms have remained highly productive and their trickle down positive effects have become more visible now when the country was fighting against coronavirus pandemic.
Following promulgation of MTI Act 2015, the hospital was providing health services 24/7 to deal emergency and routine cases besides providing medical care to the patients of coronavirus. After the Act, operation theaters are being used for 14 hours and teaching staff is now available in premises of the hospital for minimum 14 hours due to Institutional Based Practice (IBP). Prior to the act, KTH used to close at about 2:00p.m with only emergency services running.
Talking to APP, Director KTH, Dr Zafar Afridi said that 1,300 beds and 56 ventilators were available in the hospital against which 55 beds and 25 ventilators were reserved for COVID-19 patients. He said every bed was connected with central supply oxygen besides facilities of portable ultrasound, digital X-rays and portable dialysis machines.
According to official documents, as many as 2,359,475 patients were examined at Out Patient Department (OPD) and 2,150,488 at Accident and Emergency Department (A&ED) from January 1, 2015 to December 2019 against 1,139,253 including 496,026 at OPD and 643,227 at Casualty with no facilities of evening.—APP
