Post-devolution desperation: JPMC threatens sit-in if health dept doesn’t help

Long power cuts on Tuesday nearly brought the hospital to a standstill.

KARACHI: It has been three months since Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) was devolved to Sindh yet major roadblocks keep one of the biggest hospitals in the city from functioning smoothly.

The resistance seems to be from all ends, from the administration and staffers fighting off being ‘sent on deputation’ from the federal government to the province or delays in the release of funds, resulting in technical hiccups and curtailing critical supplies of medical and surgical needs. This is topped off by a case registered in the Sindh High Court. Indeed, the hospital has been on a rough roller-coaster ride for the last quarter.

On Tuesday, matters took yet another turn for the worse. The steering committee formed post-devolution to voice the administration and staffers concerns to the public met to discuss the latest round of difficulties. With power outages becoming a regular feature, the hospital’s dependence on its three 1,000 kVA each generators has increased. Two are not working. On Tuesday, a disrupted power supply plagued the hospital which did not have electricity since 10am. Two rental generators were connected to the intensive care units of different wards.

“We are trying to do our job but there are too many obstacles,” said a member of the steering committee on condition of anonymity.  “As a result, the patients are harassed but take it out on us. We’d rather close down the hospital then deal with this pressure from all ends.”

In a press statement, the steering committee announced a week’s deadline for the health department to fix the long-standing problems. If the deadline is not met, they threaten to shut the hospital down or hold a ‘dharna’ or sit-in protest in front of Chief Minister House to get his attention on the matter.

Senior members of JPMC’s administration have declined to comment. However, according to a press statement issued by the steering committee, several operations had to be postponed and patients had to be transported via stairs as there was no electricity to power the lifts.

On several occasions during the last few months this newspaper has tried to contact Health Secretary Rizwan Ahmed on this issue but he has not been available for comment.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2011.