KARACHI:Sindh Health Department has failed to purchase life-saving drugs through its Centralised Procurement Committee for hospitals of the province as lengthy procedure could still not be completed despite lapse of five months.
The shortage of medicines has continued in health facilities of Sindh province as supply of life-saving drugs has not started yet due to delay in tender process, putting score of lives at danger.
All the major hospitals of Karachi, including Civil Hospital Karachi, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, National Institute of Child Health, Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad, Korangi, New Karachi, Saudabad, Ibrahim Haidery and Lyari General Hospital have been facing shortages of medicines since last five years.
The hospitals of Hyderabad, Larkana, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad and others are also facing shortage of life-saving medicines. The medicines for patients suffering from chronic diseases like, infectious and systemic diseases, are not available in government sector hospitals.
The stock of surgical equipments has also ended in all health facilities as the patients have been compelled to buy drugs or other surgical instruments from markets. The shortage of drugs has badly affected the patients care all over the province.
Sources at Sindh health department informed that the shortage of medicines in hospitals in Sindh had been a problem since the beginning of the current fiscal year, affected the operation of health facilities of the province.
An administrative official at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi told PPI that Sindh health Department had allowed management to purchase life –saving drugs and other surgical items through local purchase but stock of drug and other items had almost finished.
Chairman Centralised Procurement Committee Sindh Prof Dr Saeed Qureshi was not available for comments.