Bethania Hospital Sialkot

Bethania Hospital, Sialkot, Pakistan is a medical facility owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lahore.

The hospital treats 60,000 patients a year, 5,000 of which are TB patients. It has a staff of 130 and occupies an area of 300,000 sq. ft.

Sister Isobel Moran took over the hospital transforming it into a thriving facility with the addition of extra 50 beds, high standards of affordable care, the introduction of surgical procedures, and obstetric services and improved anaesthetic and intensive care services.

Direct Relief International has supported the facility from 2002 to 2005, most recently with a $1.3 million medical assistance shipment in September 2005.

Tuberculosis program

Since its establishment in 1964, the hospital has worked extensively to detect and treat TB patients in the region. It is a 215 bed frontline and referral hospital, providing medical and surgical services. There is a specialized TB unit with 100 beds.

Ilyas Gill was the manager of the tuberculosis program at Bethania Hospital in 2011.

Every year 350,000 people in Pakistan develop TB. Treatment defaulting is one of the major causes of the failure of TB control programs. A study was carried out in Bethania Hospital from May - July 2006. In the Hospital defaulting rates are as high as 72% for the standard 12 months course. The study revealed the urgent need for a health education campaign to convince the general population that tuberculosis is curable.

TB is a major cause of ill health in Pakistan. Research carried out in Bethania Hospital in 1996-97 was able to contribute to better understanding the problem of low treatment adherence among patients.