CHK Burns Centre struggles as patient load surges


Admissions increase by 15% in 2024, with 71 suicidal and homicidal burn cases reported in two years.

KARACHI: The 66-bed Burns Centre at Dr Ruth K M Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) admitted a total of 1,170 burn victims, including acid, suicidal, homicidal and electrical burns cases, in 2024, registering a 15% increase, compared to its overall admissions in 2023.

According to the Burns Centre –the only comprehensive burns care facility in the public sector in Sindh—it treated and discharged 573 (49%) burns patients, while 412 (35%) expired and 166 (14%) left the hospital against the expressed medical advices.

The CHK centre, which is run in collaboration with an NGO (Friends of Burns Centre), witnessed 32 suicidal attempt (self-burning), and 16 homicidal (reportedly burnt by others) cases in 2024, against 39 suicidal and 23 homicidal cases brought there in 2023.

Overall, the burns-specific hospital admitted 71 patients, including 22 women, suicidal burn cases, and 39, including 18 women, homicidal burn cases, among many cases of burns, in 2023 and 2024, according to hospital sources.

Such a data, according to doctors and civil society activists, suggests underlying mental health issues, societal pressures, or other factors that cause individuals to attempt self-harm. Homicidal burns are also a significant concern, pointing to a disturbing pattern of violence, which may be linked to domestic violence, acid attacks, or other forms of intentional harm, the concerned quarters observed.

Inclusion of about 40 women in the list of suicidal and homicidal burn cases in two years reportedly indicates deeper societal issues, like gender-based violence, inequality, or lack of education and access to resources and support, a physician at the centre viewed, emphasising the frequency of these incidents highlights the need for robust support systems, including mental health services, crisis intervention, and social support networks in districts across the province.

As per the statistics availed from the burns centre, the facility recorded 1,170 admissions of patients under four categories—acid burn (34 cases, including 10 women), electric burn (107, including 12 women), scald burn (344, including 158 women) and fire burn (821, including 378 women) in 2004. The hospital received a total of 1,018 patients including 570 women in 2023 and 963 cases including 397 women in 2022. The patient load on the hospital increased by 21% from 2022 to 2024.

There have been surges in the number of cases in all the said categories, excluding electrical burns cases which reduced to 107, against 138 recorded in 2023 and 103 in 2022. Acid burn cases increased by 17%, while scald burn cases by 5% and fire burn by one per cent only, compared to the figures of 2023.

Besides admitting 19,094 patients for short- or long-term treatment during a period from 2005 to 2024, the CHK Burns Centre recorded arrivals of 280,419 out-patients during the same period, while 59,145 operation theatre procedures were performed till 2024.

The hospital –the only referral health unit in the public sector for burn injuries—with around 120 specialists, doctors and paramedical staffs has to struggle a lot while managing the patients brought to it from across Sindh, given it needs for more accommodation and human resources.

At the same time, the doctors expressed concern over the alarming figures of electrical burns and acid inflicted burns and called for taking extreme precautionary measures, including awareness campaigns in both the rural and urban areas.

There is also a need to enforce relevant laws, including those aimed at protecting women from acid throwers, and other prescribed procedures in the acid and chemical handlings and businesses, said a social activist privy to the hospital.

Agreeing that there is a need to establish more specialised burns centres in other parts of Sindh, CHK Medical Superintendent Dr Khalid Bukhari shared with this scribe that efforts were being made to enhance medical capabilities among doctors and paramedical staff handling the burns cases in CHK.

He informed that work on the ground will begin soon under the government’s annual development programme to have a complete one floor dedicated to burns patients. “The Sindh government has planned to build a new emergency patients building in the CHK premises, wherein another 25 beds will be earmarked for burns patients.” --M A

News report courtesy: Social Track, Karachi. 

With an uninterrupted 23-year career in daily journalism (1991-2013), the author/editor of this blog currently serves as Editor of Social Track, a weekly newspaper focused on social sectors, based in Karachi. Holding a master's degree in Mass Communications from the University of Karachi (1990), his professional experience includes roles as senior reporter at Daily Dawn, Karachi (May 2001-August 2013) and Chief Reporter at The News International, Karachi (April 1991-May 2001). He has a strong background in development journalism, he has an extensive portfolio of news stories, analytical reports and features covering a wide range of sectors. He has had the privilege of covering numerous high-profile figures, including Pakistani presidents, prime ministers, army chiefs, foreign dignitaries, and VVIPs and attending conferences and workshops abroad. He began his journalism career in the early 1980s. Throughout his career, he has received several national awards from government and private organisations. He has contributed to various radio and TV/channel broadcasts and has also served as a trainer at workshops in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad, focused on training journalists.

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