10 years on, PIB Colony hospital can’t offer anything beyond OPD

Lack of interest from govt officials blamed for poor state of affairs at 100-bed hospital

KARACHI:

The Sindh Government Hospital PIB Colony established in District East in 2012 could not become fully operational due to a lack of interest from the Health Department and the Works and Services Department.

The provincial government had set aside Rs480 in the Annual Development Plan 2012 for the establishment of this 100-bed hospital. However, more than 10 years on, only the OPD is operational where a few doctors show up to check patients.

The hospital was supposed to be completed in three years, but even after 10 years, it lacks basic things required for a 24/7 hospital, including machines, furniture, and medical equipment. The cost of the project has escalated from Rs480 million to Rs660 million due to the negligence of the Sindh Works and Services Department.

Mehar Khursheed, spokesperson for the Health Department, told The Express Tribune that the construction of the hospital building was completed in 2022, but it has not been handed over to the Health Department. The OPD is partially operational where a few doctors report to duty under the supervision of District Health Officer Dr Muhammad Naeem.

The Health Department spokesman also confirmed that the building has not been handed over to them, but OPD, EPI and family planning services have been started on the instructions of senior officials.

Now, if the hospital has not been handed over to the Health Department, then how did the OPD become functional? How did Federal Minister Shazia Marri inaugurate the Benazir Nashonuma Centre at the same hospital last month?

In 2021-22, machinery worth Rs45 million was purchased for the hospital, which has not been brought to the hospital yet. The Health Department says that the machinery has been kept in the store.

If the government wants to provide healthcare facilities to people and even sets aside tens of millions of rupees for this purpose, then it should also take action against the departments which show negligence in completing its projects.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2023.