Sterilisation facility: decline in gas pressure hits CHK's Burns Centre

Despite being an essential healthcare facility the 60- bed Burns Centre at Civil Hospital Karachi is faced with frequent decline in the pressure of gas supplied to it by Sui Southern Gas Company. The situation that otherwise may sound benign is difficult for the staff responsible for sterilisation of the facility that is mainly gas-based.
The Friends of Burns Centre, running the facility under a private-public sector arrangement, is in process to acquire an electricity powered sterilisation system as a back-up support for the existent gas-run steriliser.
Executive Director, Burns Centre, CHK, Dabir-ur-Rehman, told APP that arrangements for uninterrupted electric supply is already in place at the centre.
In reply to a question, he said sterilisation department at Burns Centre also needed frequent upgradation and an Ethyneoxide Circulation Plant is being installed to improve sterilisation of ventilators as well as other essential gadgets in face of growing number of the patients attended at the facility.
He said over 100,000 patients have been treated at the facility since its establishment in 2005 while around 6,000 patients have been admitted, and 95,000 patients provided OPD service.
About 13,000 patients have been operated upon and provided with intensive care facilities under extreme sterilised conditions.
"These are burn victims of varied types and categories who need extreme care to avoid infections at every cost," reiterated Dabir- ur- Rehman.
For the very purpose, he said a chiller installed at the facility also needed to be upgraded and expanded as at times due to increase in the number of patients beds have to be placed even in the corridors of the centre.
In reply to a question, he said the facility was presently providing one nurse for every two patients at its ICU.
These nurses were said to be qualified and trained enough to offer exemplary post operative care.
"I strongly believe that quality and dedicated nursing care makes the difference for any facility," he said. The Executive Director, Burns Centre responding to another query said that posts of professor, associate professor and registrar were lying vacant here for quite long.
Friends of Burns Centre, taking care of the facility under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2004, is arranging for the salary and all relevant allowances to no less than 150 professionals including consultants, nurses, technicians and paramedics.
Dabir- ur-Rehman mentioned that Friends of Burns Centre also arranges funds for procurement of medicines that are not available at CHK pharmacy.
He said a permanent arrangement for regular funding is needed to make the Burns Centre a state of art facility.
Responding to a query, he said the Burns Centre was not paid a single penny by the zakat and ushr department.