KARACHI:Medico-Legal Department Karachi is facing an acute shortage of male and female Medic-Legal Officers (MLOs) in the city since past several years.
Police Surgeon Karachi, Dr Qarar Abbasi, while talking to PPI, said there were 70 sanctioned posts in the department, out of which 39 were lying vacant in the city. He informed that there are nine medico-legal centres in Karachi out of which only three are functional.
He further informed Medico-Legal Centre of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi and Abbasi Shaheed Hospital are also facing acute shortage of MLOs.
He explained that strength of MLOs had not been increased as per population of the city since 1980. He said a plan to make operational medico-legal centres in others hospitals had not been materialized yet due to shortage of MLOs.
He said ideally there should be at least four women and six male MLOs in every hospital, but new doctors are less concerned and not interested in entering the medico legal sector due to low salary, incentive and allowances in Sindh province as compared with Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Dr Abbasi said MLO’s report containing the cause of death, time of death, nature of death, and other details compiled in an official form at the time of autopsy provides the basis for a court’s case, carrying an impact on the final decision. But unfortunately, key posts lay vacant in major health facilities.
He said Medico-Legal Department of Karachi was unable to dispose fresh cases of gender base violence and dead bodies within proper time to shortage of WMLOs rs at Centres. He said currently, only four Women Medico- Legal Officers (WMLOs) are working under department out of total nine sanctioned posts.
“The doctors hired through Sindh Public Services Commission (SPSC) for MLO job couple of years ago did not join their duties yet. There is urgent need to fill the vacant posts and increase the strengthen of MLOs a per population and crime ratio in the city” he added.