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PESHAWAR, Sep 01 (APP):Standing with the people of Khyber Pakthunkhwa in all testing times, Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) Peshawar is a unique healthcare facility providing best healthcare services to all patients despite limited financial resources, laboratories and manpower.
From Chitral to DI Khan and Kohistan to Waziristan districts, LRH has accommodated all kinds of patients of the 39 districts of Khyber Pakthunkhwa including seven merged districts by providing the much needed healthcare services to them irrespective of their financial status, colour and caste.
Whether it was 2005 devastating earthquake, 2010 floods or cases of terrorism, the LRH’s doctors, nurses and paramedics rosed to the occasion by treating hundreds of thousands of patients since its establishment in 1927.
Besides treating patients of many ailments including kidney, liver, chest, heart, acute medical and surgical diseases, the colonial era hospital had entertained an influx of coronavirus patients while several of its doctors, nurses and paramedics laid down lives in line of duty.
Named after wife of British Viceroy Lord Reading in 1927, the hospital has a golden history visited by former Presidents, Prime Ministers and other VIPs to acknowledge outstanding services of its doctors and others staff for ailing humanity.
Lady Reading, who was the wife of Viceroy Reading, was very fond of Peshawar City and liked Peshawar view from the historic Balahisar fort.
“Once during a visit to Peshawar, she fell from the horse and got injuries while taking a round of the walled city. She was taken to Agerton hospital for treatment but due to lack of medical facilities she was shifted to Royal Military Hospital (Now Combined Military Hospital).
After few years in 1927, she visited Peshawar again and desired to upgrade Agerton Hospital.
She donated Rs 52000 for the hospital. The Agerton Hospital was later renamed as Lady Reading Hospital (LRH),” said Muhammad Asim, spokesman of LRH while talking to APP.
He said LRH was a popular hospital of the province due to best health services being provided to patients by expert doctors in many specialities including the fatal coronavirus, cancers, chest and kidneys.
Asim said LRH came under enormous pressure of the suspected coronavirus patients in recent years seeking early diagnoses and treatment, but its computerized healthcare system, treatment and medical facilities besides dedicated doctors and paramedics remained unmatched during the pandemic.
As a result, many of the coronavirus affected patients had returned homes upon full recovery.
Besides patients from all the thirty nine districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including seven merged tribal districts, the patients of Afghanistan are also utilizing its services due to significant improvement in its healthcare system, strengthening of infrastructure and medical, diagnostic and surgical services.
Asim said that patients loads in LRH were further increased after launching of Sehat Card’s free treatment program by the previous government.
“I came to LRH from Nowshera district after my mother faced severe heart attack,” said Khurshid Alam, an employee of Public Sector organization while talking to APP on Friday.
Impressed by timely treatment of doctors and labs staff, he said that condition of his mother was now stable and to be discouraged tomorrow after sucessfull angiography.
Asim said besides upgradation of medical facilities including construction of new wards and testing labs, installation of modern health machinery and computerised health care system have been introduced.
A state-of-the art five storey Medical and Surgical Building were constructed where many specialities including nephrology and pathology with 24 hours services to patients ensured.
COVID-19 test laboratory and a high dependency unit, telemedicine service besides two ICUs for critical patients of the coronavirus established during COVID-19 crisis.
Highest priority was accorded to revamp the outdated healthcare system by introducing scores of reforms and projects in hospitals.
Full autonomy with complete authority in promotions, recruitments, equipment and accountability for physicians was ensured.
He said recruitments and promotions in all cadres were decided on merit based on new regulations contrary to the past practice of an aged based promotion and length of service.
Bylaws were introduced under which working hours in public sector hospitals including LRH were aligned with modern practice that improved overall health delivery system and efficiency of the staff manifolds.
During past governments, medical professionals including paramedics and nurses were forced to perform long hours duties without financial incentives while doctors were allowed to serve only for five hours which created sense of deprivation among junior doctors, nurses, paramedics and thus its overall health delivery system has been badly affected.
To break the nexus of doctors and commission agents in pharmaceutical, medicines, laboratory and surgical companies, LRH managment had launched institutionalized based private practice (IBPP) where private patients are being treated by senior consultants on affordable fee as compared to Dabgari Gardens, a hub of private medical practitioners and laboratories which was a source of minting money from poor patients in the name of quality treatment.
Set a unique example for medical teaching institutions (MTI) in KP, LRH has strengthened its medical faculty by recruiting hundreds of physicians, surgeons and nurses on merit to handle patients load effectively.
Medical equipments worth billion of rupees were purchased for LRH during the last few years and hospital services were computerized.
First modern accident and emergency department with recruitment of trained emergency physicians has now become part of accident and emergency department in KP.
KP’s first ever Interventional Radiology (IR) programme with services of consultants radiologists with equipment was setup besides establishment of new rheumatology programme and that free medicines to all indoor patients were ensured.
Keeping in view of enormous difficulties of persons with disabilities, first modern Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Medicine Department were established in KP.
All gates of the hospital, which were used as thoroughfare, with dogs and cats roaming freely in the past, have now been fully secured through deployment of security staff 24/7.