Despite lapse of one-year, up-gradation of six district hospitals and giving them teaching hospital status could not be materialised.
According to sources, the provincial health department had issued a notification for up-gradation of the six provincial government hospitals in Karachi by giving them teaching hospital status, but unfortunately the decision could still not be implemented after the transfer of Secretary Health Iqbal Durrani.
The hospitals for decided up-gradation include SindhGovernmentSaudabadHospital, Sindh Government Hospital Korangi, SindhGovernmentLiaquatabadHospital, SindhGovernmentNewKarachiHospital, Sindh Government Qatar Hospital Orangi, and SindhGovernmentIbrahimHaideriHospital.
It is pertinent to recall here that former secretary health Iqbal Durrani had constituted a committee under the supervision of Special Secretary Health Dr Mansoor Abbas to up-gradate six district level hospitals in the city.
The committee was assigned to look after the process of affiliation of Sindh Government Hospital Saudabad, Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad, NewKarachiHospital, SindhGovernmentQatarHospital and IbrahimHaideriHospital with JinnahSindhMedicalUniversity and Dow University of Health Sciences.
The committee members include Vic-Chancellor Jinnah Sindh Medical University Prof Tariq Rafi, Pro-Vice Chancellor Dow University Prof Umer Farooq, EDO Health Karachi Dr Zafar Ejaz, and Dr Salam. The committee had been directed to submit report within two weeks about up-gradation of hospitals and giving them teaching hospital status, but despite the passage of one-year, no progress could be made yet in this regard.
The decision was warmly welcomed by the medical fraternity and representatives of doctors’ organisations for giving teaching hospital status to all district-level healthcare hospitals in the city. JSMU’s Vic-Chancellor Prof Tariq Rafi, while talking to PPI, said affiliation of hospitals with JSMU had been delayed as the provincial government has not handed over administrative power of these healthcares to the university so far.
Another member of the committee and Director Health Karachi Dr Zafar Ejaz said that the project was put on cold storage after the transfer of secretary health. He said up-gradation of hospitals would not only improve health delivery system in these hospitals but it would also largely prove beneficial for citizens in getting quality treatment facilities.
Pakistan Medical Association’s Finance Secretary Dr SM Qaisar Sajjad said the provincial government had taken this decision to affiliate three district-level hospitals with JSMU, as Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre and National Institute of Child Health administration had refused to affiliate the institutions with this university.
He said the affiliation of three district hospitals with JSMU was not feasible as these institutions were situated away from the university. He said the PMA demand construction of three more hospitals in Karachi.