The Orthopaedic Unit at the Sindh Government Hospital, Liaquatabad, after remaining non-functional for over a decade, has become functional once again for bone fracture treatment and surgeries.
Operations had not been conducted at the facility for the past 12 years due to malfunctioning of machines and non-availability of required surgical equipment. However, under the supervision of Medical Superintendent Dr Atique Qureshi, the orthopaedic unit has now been fully restored and made operational.
Dr. Qureshi informed that the Orthopaedic Unit consists of 16 beds and handles daily over a dozen fracture cases, mostly the road accidents. He added that the hospital serves a vast population stretching from Teen Hatti to Sohrab Goth and Nazimabad but lacks basic diagnostic facilities such as a CT scan machine.
The echocardiogram services for cardiac patients is also not available in the hospital. In addition, there are currently no specialists available for nephrology, ENT, radiology, general surgery, cardiology, urology, and ophthalmology.
According to Dr Qureshi, all consultant posts for these departments were abruptly removed from the hospital's official budget book, leaving a significant void in specialist care for residents of district central.
He further stated that the hospital is facing a severe shortage of ICU technicians and ENT specialists. Despite these challenges, the hospital's renovation and upgrading across various departments have been completed. Additionally, the building of the School of Paramedical Sciences has been refurbished and educational activities have resumed.
Dr. Qureshi has appealed to the provincial health minister and the health secretary to urgently appoint specialist doctors, provide echocardiogram machines, and deploy adequate staff so that Liaquatabad Hospital can better serve the millions of residents of the central district.
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