LARKANA:As many as 463 infants died in Paeds Medicine Department (also called Children Hospital) of Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) in first three months of 2019 out of admission of 4657, it was learnt here on Tuesday.
In January, 192 children expired out of admission of 1531. In February 118 lost their precious lives against admission of 1683 and in March 153 died out of admission of 1443.
The cases of five kids were referred whereas 540 left against medical advice (LAMA) to private medical centers due to lack of required facilities and to get better treatment. Hence, it could be said that situation here is same as in Tharparkar. Children there suffer from malnutrition and here their parents face poverty.
Likewise, 989 patients expired in other departments of the CMCH during the same period. In all 1452 patients lost their lives during January-March 2019 in CMCH against total admission of 22161 ailing people that arrived here from far flung areas of lower Sindh and parts of Balochistan to get specialized medical treatment to save their lives.
The 1095 patients were LAMA, 7015 major and minor operations were carried out with 31560 x-rays, 20290 ultrasounds, 129889 laboratory examinations, 3824 kidney-failure people received dialysis, small kidney stones of 425 patients were removed through lithotripsy, ECG of 8700 cardiac patients was done along with NVD of 366 patients during the same period.
These figures prove that large number of poverty-ridden poor people reach at the CMCH to get examined and treated but this major hospital is facing multifarious problems which need to be resolved on emergency basis specially its all diagnostic machinery, equipment and instruments must be replaced with latest and modern technologies so that helpless should not suffer for negligence of others.
Six ventilators supplied to Children Hospital (CH) in 2013 are still dysfunctional due to unavailability of trained operators. Similarly, proper medicines are not supplied to 150-bed capacity CH where almost everything has become outdated along with its laboratory equipment. Problem of stationary has become so complicated and worse that laboratory reports are written on half while papers which the professors refuse to rely which also need to be investigated. There are three units in the CH and all are facing cleanliness issues and shortage of paramedics.
The issue of ghost and absconder employees in CMCH has become a challenge for the administration since last over fiver years but nobody has yet resolved it. Their monthly salaries have not yet been stopped by the accounts section which need to be thoroughly probed. Another core issue which has surfaced recently is the theft of costly medicines from the wards which should also be investigated immediately. Recently social activists took out a large rally and held a demo highlighting these major issues which should be resolved without losing further time in the interest of PPP voters.