KARACHI: The number of visiting patients and their admission has declined at the third largest public sector hospital of the megacity, known as Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH), due to financial crisis of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), which runs this healthcare.
Sources at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital told PPI, that the number of OPD patients and admitted patient has drastically dropped in this major hospital owing to multiple crises. The hospital’s financial and administrative affairs are largely being run on the limited KMC funding and philanthropic donations.
The shortage of staff & drugs, unavailability of advanced diagnostic facilities, suspension of food supply to admitted patients, non-operational wards, insufficient supply of water, out of order equipment and other problems have already badly affected the smooth functioning of this major hospital.
Sources said posts of resident medical officers & consultants, staff nurses, sweepers, security guards, technicians, paramedical staff and others administrative seats are lying vacant. The shortage of doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and administrative staff has badly affected the performance of the healthcare.
Many diagnostic machines are very old and outdated. The MRI machine, ventilators, incubators and other equipment are lying out of order while the administration is unable to get them repaired due to shortage of funds. The supply of food to admitted patients has already been suspended owing to the financial crisis.
“There is acute shortage of medicines and medical staff in this healthcare facility, while hospital administration is not even unable to maintain sanitation condition and security of the hospital in three shifts due to shortage janitorial staff,” sources informed.
They said this 900-plus bed hospital did not receive even 10 per cent of its budgetary allocation with the result that all units of the hospital, including intensive care, coronary and emergency units, face acute shortage of life-saving medicines and other essential items.
Some departments of the hospital including Radiology, Cardiology, Urology, Plastic Surgery, Burns, and Neurosurgery departments are on verge of closure due to shortage of specialist doctors and consultants. The junior doctors are running these departments due to unavailability of qualified doctors.
The patients are facing hardship due to the dearth of specialist doctors in hospital, but KMC administration and health department Sindh authorities concerned have miserably failed provide qualified doctors to institution to improve patient care.
The financial crises have seriously affected almost every service of the healthcare facility, which once provided not only costly medicines free but also food to its indoor patients. Currently, 40 per cent of the diagnostic machines at the facility are out of order.
Medical Superintendent, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, Dr Mohammad Anwer, while talking to PPI, said the hospital administration is facing multiple challenges to run the affair of health facility smoothly and effectively.
He said special funds are needed to provide medicines, hire new staff, repair out of order equipment, make functional wards and purchase new machines to improve patient care.