15,000 families left without govt healthcare in Karachi

A three room Basic Health Unit (BHU) established in Karachi's West district in 1985 has been shut for the past seven years. It was the only government health facility catering to over a dozen villages and residential areas.

Constructed on two-acres of land donated by the villagers of Bhudan Shah or Bhudni Goth, the hospital had been built to serve area residents who otherwise had to travel miles for any health-related situation.

To facilitate the staff and doctors, living quarters and a bungalow were built but were later occupied by Lyari-based criminals.

Today the three-room facility serves as a storage room for a newly-constructed school nearby while the residential building sits in ruin.

"This was the only facility here, facilitating hundreds of patients daily," said Abdullah Shah, a local resident. "It has been closed since 2013. There is no other government hospital in the area."

Patients from villages including Mann, Mindhyari, Allah Bitto, Lal Bakhar, Saun Lakhi, Moosa Goth, Hawkes Bay and others used to visit the hospital.

But now, according to Ameen Khaskheli, a social activist and are resident, they are forced either to travel the distance for every minor or major health concern, or shell out money they can ill-afford to private health facilities.

In case of emergencies, a majority of the residents living in the Mauripur area and around Bhudni Goth transport their seriously ill patients to Lyari General Hospital, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre or Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital.

"Seriously ill patients and pregnant women [can] hardly bear the pain while traveling to these tertiary care hospitals," Khaskheli said, pointing out the dilapidated condition of Mauripur Road from Javed Bahri to Gulbai.

At a rough estimate, over 15,000 households live in Bhudni Goth while thousands more live in nearby areas. The village has three major graveyards, including one for Christians and another for Hindus.

"At least we have a facility for our dead," said Shah wryly, adding that the closure of the government hospital had opened the door for quacks to emerge in the area. "There is no other option," he added. "Closing a hospital permanently is like snatching a basic right from citizens."

Nazar Muhammad Bhand, who also lives in the area, narrated that the residential quarters were occupied by criminals. "This compelled hospital staff to leave the premises permanently, closing the facility's doors forever," he explained.

Recounting the hospital's foundation, he told The Express Tribune that the facility was established to accommodate voters during the general elections in early 1980s. "Not a single such facility has been provided to the people of these old areas [since then]," he complained.

The villagers informed The Express Tribune that some district health officials had visited the BHU a couple of months ago. "They promised us the hospital will be restored, but once they left, they never looked back," smiled Bhand.

Officials from the Sindh health department, meanwhile, seem unaware of the situation, telling The Express Tribune that they did not know why the hospital has been shut for the past seven years.

However, Dr Ateeq-ur-Rehman Qureshi, the additional DHO of West district, while speaking to The Express Tribune, said the hospital had been demolished. "But we will renovate it," he promised. "This facility needs to be upgraded and we will soon restore it."

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2020.