Report sought on availability of doctors, facilities at public hospitals across Sindh

SHC hears petition alleging high death toll in Shikarpur blast was due to absence of doctors at hospital

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) ordered on Tuesday the health department to submit complete details regarding the availability of staff and medical treatment facilities at public hospitals across the province.

Headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, a two-judge bench sought these details by January 30, 2018.

The bench was hearing a petition filed by Advocate Shahab Usto who had approached the court seeking a probe into the high number of deaths of the victims of the bomb blast at an Imambargah in Shikarpur last year allegedly due to non-provision of timely medical assistance. He had also sought a direction to the provincial authorities for ensuring availability of specialised doctors, paramedical staff and treatment facilities in the public hospitals of each district of Sindh.

The petitioner informed the court that the state of medical facilities was unsatisfactory at public hospitals across the province due to the negligence on the part of the authorities concerned.



Advocate Usto alleged that patients were dying due to the non-availability of doctors at public health facilities in the rural areas of the province as the doctors were not willing to serve outside the urban centres.

He claimed that although the relevant authorities had been announcing the appointments of doctors at hospitals run by the provincial government, nothing had been practically achieved.

Citing an example, Advocate Usto informed the court that he went to the Shikarpur district hospital to donate blood for the survivors of the bomb blast that targeted an Imambargah in January last year and found that only five non-specialised doctors were serving there.

He claimed that over 60 deaths after the blast were caused due to the non-provision of proper and timely medical treatment to the victims.



"At the Shikarpur district headquarters hospital alone, the number of sanctioned posts for the doctors is 50. [However,] hardly a few turn up on their duties," Advocate Usto claimed.

During Tuesday's proceedings, a health deputy secretary filed a report regarding the availability of staff and medical facilities at the Shikarpur district headquarters hospital only. However, the petitioner disputed the facts and figures mentioned in the report.

Expressing dissatisfaction over the report, the bench members told the deputy secretary to submit a detailed report on the state of availability of doctors, paramedical staff and medical facilities at the government hospitals across the province.

Directing the deputy secretary to file such report by January 30, the bench adjourned hearing.