The Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) has halted open-heart surgery because of the monsoon rains, which have caused sewage water to seep into the operating rooms. At a news conference conducted at PIC, caretaker health minister Dr. Javed Akram addressed the media and said that the operating rooms will be closed for a third-party infection audit.
Significant delays had already accrued for cardiac patients awaiting open heart procedures prior to the closure of seven of nine operating theaters. There were a growing number of patients waiting for surgery, but only two operating theaters (OTs). The problem has been made worse by the closure of these two OTs for an infection audit.
Punjab Institute of Cardiology is main surgery hospital
When all operating rooms were functioning at full capacity, the PIC performed 12–14 open heart procedures everyday. However, Dr. Javed Akram said that the high infection rate forced the current shutdown. To ensure the patients’ well-being, the government has been actively collecting samples on a daily basis.
Two operating rooms at the PIC have reportedly been disinfected and returned to service by the ministry of health. Once the remaining operating rooms have been cleared of any trace of infection, surgery can resume there as well.
However, it should be noted that the PIC has not performed any surgical procedures in the past three days, which suggests that the problem is more complicated than initially thought.
Two operating rooms at Jinnah Hospitals are set aside specifically for PIC patients as part of an endeavor to solve the problem and care for their surgical needs.
The PIC administration is working hard to eradicate the infection and get all operating rooms back up and running so they can continue providing lifesaving cardiac treatments as soon as possible. Surgery at the PIC has been temporarily halted, highlighting the need for prompt and effective action to guarantee patient safety and restore normal operations at the medical center.
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