The hospital will help the flood ravaged people in Southern Punjab
The Indus Hospital Network (IHN) will operate a free of cost boat clinic in the remote areas of southern Punjab. The boat clinic is first of its kind in Pakistan. The patients will be treated free of cost. The areas it will operate in lack much of basic necessities of life. The initiative will serve a population of over 100,000.
With recent flooding, some of the areas are easily accessible by the boat. Getting medical help to the people of these areas by water is a great initiative. In an official statement, IHN said it understood the problem and came up with this solution.
“The inhabitants are marginalised and vulnerable, with bare minimum access to communications. The area gets completely submerged during the floods. In such a scenario, the only way to get healthcare is by boat,” the statement read.
The hospital network added that the initial screening and care will be performed at the boat hospital. However, for secondary care, the patients will be referred to IHN partner facilities.
“The clinic will provide quality screening and primary care services free-of-charge. Patients in need of secondary and tertiary level care will be referred to the IHN partner and referral sites,” the statement added. “At each docking point, patients will be registered, screened, and have their vitals assessed before a doctor’s visit. The boat will have a lab collection unit and pharmacy as well”.
Primary Care Program (PCP) has been run by the hospital network since 2017. It manages an impressive 25 primary care facilities in different areas of the country. Some clinics are functional in other hospitals as well.
“The program integrates family medicine with public health interventions and puts a premium on preventive care through community-based teams linked to each centre,” IHN said.