By: Kamran Khamiso Khowaja
JATI: Taking cognizance of the shortage of medicine including the life-saving drugs, consumable doctors, and lower staff, PPP MPA Mohammad Ali Malkani visited Taluka Hospital Jati here on Friday. He visited different wards of the hospital and acquired information about the ratio of daily outdoor patients being treated at the hospital and the challenges it was facing.
Briefing the current state of affairs to him, Medical Superintendent at the Taluka Hospital Dr. Yameen Shah said that despite the worst shortage of staff and medicine, people of this area were expecting quality healthcare from this only Government health facility because they knew that the remaining staff available there was committed to their task.
He said that since the abrogation of public-private partnership he was facing all sorts of problems to manage the acutely understaffed hospital adding that after the withdrawal of MERF the number of doctors has reduced to three of 17. He said that he had to desert the night shift, evening shift, and malaria screening facility owing to the paucity of staff.
District health officer Dr. Shahnaz Khowaja told MPA that almost all hospitals in the district were facing a shortage of medicine and staff. She said that as head of the district,s health department she would take stern action against ghost doctors and paramedical staff who were not performing their duties honestly and had exposed the lives of poor patients to utter risk.
MPA Mohammad Ali Malkani told the media that no one could be held responsible for this crisis neither the Medical superintendent nor the district health officer because the Sindh Government was framing a new strategy to operate the hospitals without NGOs. He said that uplifting health facilities were among the top priorities of the provincial government and Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari had directed the Chief Minister to ensure quality health facilities in all hospitals of the province. He vowed to make all possible efforts to do away with the crisis-like situation.