Spencer Hospital on the brink of desolation

Unavailability of doctors, medicines and machinery alongside rampant loadshedding has downgraded the reputation of the

KARACHI:

Dating back to the British era, the Spencer Eye Hospital in Lyari was once considered one of the best ophthalmology hospitals in Asia. Over the past few years however, the 130-bed facility has been in a state of desolation, thanks to the negligence of the city's administration.

Although the hospital has been given the status of a teaching hospital, practically no medical teaching is carried out at the facility, where neither medicines, surgeons and surgery equipment nor fundamental facilities like electricity are available to allow the performance of various ophthalmological procedures including corneal transplants.

Syed Ali, a patient at the hospital told The Express Tribune that he suffered from keratoconus and white cataract in his eye. When he came to Spencer Eye Hospital for treatment, the concerned doctor told him that the hospital does not have laser treatment for treating his condition. "I will now have to go to the Civil Hospital," said Ali.

A senior doctor at the Spencer Eye Hospital revealed, on the condition of anonymity, that corneal transplants were not being performed since 2006. "Apart from the cataract surgery, no major eye surgeries are being offered. The major reason behind this is the non-availability of ophthalmologists, lack of modern machinery and lack of funds. The posts of five consultants, two specialists and two full time surgeons are vacant while no anesthetist is available either," said the doctor of the hospital which has a staff of 150 members including nine Resident Medical Officers (RMO) and 120 paramedical staff.

The doctor further revealed that only 50 to 100 patients visited the out-patient department (OPD) on a daily basis, as compared to older times when more than a thousand patients would walk in daily.

"The hospital has only one phaco machine for cataract surgery, provided only five months ago. It allows only four to five cataract operations per week. Apart from this, treatment for black cataracts is also available but 90 per cent of this disease is treated with medicines, which are not available here. Two general ophthalmologists check patients every four days, but these doctors are also employees of the Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC). There is no modern machinery in the hospital, where the lab has been closed for eight years while optical coherence tomography (OCT) and other important tests are also not done. Almost all the air conditioners are broken while a large generator has been dysfunctional for years," added the doctor.

Expanding on the problem, Dr Imran Samdani, Senior Director of Medical Services at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) confirmed that load shedding was a paramount problem plaguing the Spencer Eye Hospital. "Sometimes there is load shedding for 12 hours while other times electricity is gone for 24 hours.

The fuel for the generator also runs out quickly. Everything, from eye-checking machinery to surgery, requires electricity. In the past, Spencer Eye Hospital used to perform corneal transplants, which are not happening now. No new recruitments have been made at the hospital due to government restrictions since 2012," informed Dr Samdani.

"Mayor Murtaza Wahab has expressed his special interest in resolving the problems plaguing important hospitals under KMC. On his instructions, a phaco machine and other equipment for cataract surgery have been purchased at the Spencer Eye Hospital. Solar panels too are going to be installed this year. A request has been made to the provincial government for the appointment of doctors and consultants. In the next two to three months, the affairs at the Spencer Eye Hospital will improve considerably," assured Dr Samdani.