Eight years on, burns centres project lingers on

Rs182.695m scheme was also included in the annual development programme 2009-10.

KARACHI: Since 2005, a project to establish five burn centres at the major state-run hospitals has been lingering on.

Except for Karachi and Hyderabad, the province’s 18 district headquarters hospitals, 48 taluka headquarters hospitals and 125 rural health centres have no facilities to treat fire- or acid-burn patients. The authorities have managed to initiate burns treatment at two hospitals - the 200-bed Sindh Government Hospital, Liaquatabad in Karachi and the Liaquat University Hospital in Hyderabad.

Such centres have, however, yet to be opened at three major hospitals of Sindh - the 1350-bed Chandka Medical College Hospital in Larkana, the 300-bed Mahar Medical College in Sukkur and the 260-bed Civil Hospital, Mirpurkhas.

Although the buildings of these burns centres were completed three years ago, no equipment or paramedics have been brought in.

The scheme costing Rs182.695 million was also included in the annual development programme (ADP) of 2009-10. The machinery required for the burns centre at Chandka Medical College Hospital for which Rs37.35 million were allocated has still not been bought by the Sindh health department. The capital funds of Rs4.626mn have already been utilised by the previous management.

The project meanwhile also requires an annual recurring expenditure of Rs7.832million for salaries and contingencies. If made functional the burns centre at Chandka would create jobs for 44 trained medics and paramedics from grade 2 to 18. Grade 22 is the highest.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2012.