Overstretched: The decade-long trauma of Sindh’s grand trauma centre

Rs6 billion spent on the incomplete medical project

KARACHI: The fate of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Institute of Trauma at the Civil Hospital is in the doldrums.

The flagship project in the provincial health sector, named after the former prime minister and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) supremo, Benazir Bhutto, has been expensive and time-consuming - costing the taxpayers Rs6 billion and over a decade of work, which, to this date, is yet to be completed.

The emergency trauma centre, which was expected to be completed in 2012, has been at the centre of controversy due to huge cost overruns and delays. The bill for the project ballooned exponentially from Rs2 billion to Rs6 billion in 2012 when the original project plan was haphazardly expanded and other costs were factored in.

At the time, authorities responsible for the project claimed the fully functional centre would open its door to patients in 2015. Marred by allegations of mismanagement, the 12-story trauma centre was expected to be the only emergency unit of its kind in the entire province.

Unfortunately, despite the delays, the centre is still not fully functional. Sources familiar with the progress of the project claim the medical unit is far from complete and only 40 per cent of the total proposed facilities are functional. “It is a trauma centre but they keep turning down emergency patients,” said an official on condition of anonymity. “The project has been stalled due to ad hoc planning,” the official added.

On paper, the emergency healthcare facility is capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury, from prevention through rehabilitation. According to the plan, the medical unit was slated to include 500 beds for Emergency Care and Management, an emergency unit with 97 dedicated specialised beds, fully equipped Intensive Care Units, 18 fully equipped Operating rooms dedicated for Emergency and Elective Surgery among other medical facilities. The plan to establish a dedicated burns unit, MRI and CT scan units never materialised.

Initiated a decade ago, the stakes for making this trauma centre work are undisputedly high for the ruling party in the province - particularly because it bears the name of slain party chief and former prime minister Benazir Bhutto. An independent board of governors, appointed by the Sindh government, holds the reins of power and is responsible for calling all the shots at the centre. The board is headed by the provincial health minister.

Administrative issues

Over the past few years, patients visiting the trauma centre have also been irked by administrative failures and the absence of adequate medical facilities.

“Retired officers of the civil hospital have been posted on certain administrative posts of the trauma centre while the position of the chairman of the management board has been filled by a retired professor who also holds the position of the Dow University’s Vice-Chancellor, Saeed Qureshi,” an official said. “Qureshi is said to be serving as the head of the board illegally because he occupies more than one post at the moment,” the official added.

Sources familiar with the project’s progress reveal that the Sindh government itself has been uncertain about the future of the centre. At one point, the provincial government wanted to transfer the trauma centre to the Dow University of Health and Sciences but later decided to retain the administrative powers.

In addition to the administrative failures that cripple the trauma centre, it has also been struggling with political influence by the Sindh government. “Officers at the centre, mostly retired, are receiving hefty paychecks at the trauma centre,” an official said.

According to details, the project was conceived with the idea that it would supplement the facilities at the Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, a government-run tertiary care institution. Despite the burgeoning bill of Rs 6billion, the trauma centre has failed to reduce the overall volume of patients at the Civil hospital, which caters to over 7,000 patients on a daily basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2019.