SHCC orders provision of PPE for health workers

Warns of action against facilities threatening lay-offs, salary cuts

KARACHI: All healthcare establishments must provide their staff with personal protective equipment (PPE), stated Sindh Health Care Commission (SHCC) chairperson Nargis Ghaloo, warning that action would be taken against establishments failing to do so.

The decision was taken during a meeting between Ghaloo and Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho on Monday, discussing the current situation of healthcare in the province.

Ghaloo revealed during the meeting that some healthcare facilities had not been providing PPE to their staff.  As a result, she stated, the SHCC was issuing a directive making it mandatory to do so.

Additionally, she said the SHCC would also take immediate action against healthcare establishments threatening to downsize or cut the salaries of their staff.

She further claimed that the SHCC had directed all public and private hospitals in Sindh to keep their outpatient departments open, as well as provide first aid, emergency services and other medical treatment to patients approaching them. According to her, making treatment conditional on Covid-19 testing of patients was also unacceptable.

Meanwhile, Ghaloo disclosed that SHCC acting CEO Dr Farhana Memon had also deployed teams to conduct regular inspections to ensure that hospitals were following the Sindh government's standard operating procedures.

The SHCC will also issue an advisory notice to hospitals regarding the protection of healthcare workers, she said, adding that the commission had set up complaint desks where aggrieved healthcare workers and patients can report violations or grievances.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 2^nd, 2020.