KARACHI: Polluted water is being supplied to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for several weeks as the incumbent hospital administration and Karachi Water and Sewerage Board (KWSB) authorities have failed to ensure supply of clean water to Sindh’s largest tertiary care hospital.
The contaminated water has increased the possibilities of an outbreak of waterborne diseases among the patients and medical staff.
An official at CHK told PPI that there was no water treatment plant in the hospital while water tanks had not been cleaned for several months. He said polluted water had mixed up with main water supply line, therefore, water supplied to different departments had turned contaminated.
He said that recent rains had further aggravated the situation as polluted water was being supplied in different wards of health facility and it was feared that it could increase the possibilities for the outbreak of diseases.
He further stated that although some small filters had been installed in the water coolers, but those were not sufficient for a large number of visiting patients. He added that the doctors, paramedical staff and patients had been compelled to buy mineral water from medical stores while the poor patients, who could not afford mineral water, were being compelled to use polluted water.
The high-ups of KWSB have failed to ensure supply of clean water to patients and medical staff even in public sector hospitals like CHK.
Another administrative officer at CHK said that water samples collected by Infection Control Department of the hospital was found contaminated, and added that KWSB had been supplying polluted water to this health facility through main water supply line.
He said that the administration had requested the sewerage board to ensure supply of clean water to the institution as water was matter of life and death for poor patients, but no positive response had yet been received from KWSB bosses so far. He informed that chlorination of underground and overhead tanks had already started to ensure the provision of potable water to the visiting patients.
CHK Medical Superintendent Dr Tahir Aziz Sheikh was not available for comments.
