Closure of OPDs increases cardiovascular diseases patients’ worries

KARACHI: The closure of the Out Patient Department (OPD) services in the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD) and Karachi Institute of Heart Diseases (KIHD) for the past 15 days has added to the worries of the patients suffering from cardiovascular diseases in the city.

Scores of people in Karachi are facing hardships, as they are unable to get their routine checkups done at the NICVD and KIHD for the past two weeks. Currently, only emergency services are operational in these two major cardiac care health facilities of the city, while the OPDs have been closed since March 20 to stop the assembly of people in an attempt to contain the spread of coronavirus.

The suspension of the OPD services is creating a grave inconvenience for patients living with heart problems because they are unable to get their routine checkup done. Cardiologists are also working under pressure as in the absence of physical examination of patients seeking consultation on the phone, a wrong diagnosis may land them in trouble.

An official at the KIHD noted that the Sindh government and the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) needed to come up with a better plan. He said that the problems of the general public should not be overlooked while fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Chief Operating Officer, NICVD, Azra Maqsood, said all the Chest Pain Units (CPUs) are running to facilitate cardiovascular patients. The management has only shut down the main facility to control the spread of the coronavirus, she concluded.

-MN Report