Shortage of security staff at ASH puts patients’ safety at risk

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KARACHI: The Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) management has been facing hardships to manage the security of healthcare facility due to acute shortage of security staff, sources at ASH told PPI on Thursday.

The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) run Abbasi Shaheed Hospital is facing security problems for its 23 departments and wards, emergency department, medical, surgical and pediatric ICUs, school of nursing, nursing hostel, gynaecology emergency and ward.

The problem exists due to a shortage of security guards after a private security company ended its services at the hospital two years back when the administration was unable to pay them due to financial constraints.

The KMC, on the request of ASH administration, has deployed 30 city wardens to manage the security of the hospital round the clock but these wardens are unable to control the influence of outsiders in evening and night hours. The ASH management urgently needs 100 trained security guards to improve overall security situation at the hospital.

The city wardens have not been trained to provide security to medical staff, patients and their attendants.

Ash Medical Superintendent Dr Muhammad Anwer while talking to PPI said that a summary has already been moved to KMC Medical and Health Service Senior Director for the provision of security staff in order to ensure proper security to doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, patients and their attendants round the clock.