KARACHI: As many as 148 ambulances are non-operational in Sindh province out of total 580, while majority of rescue vehicles are not equipped with life-saving facilities, PPI learned on Saturday.
A large number of rescue ambulances has been lying out of order in Shikarpur, Badin, Naushehro Feroze, Jacobabad and Sukkur districts since several years. No attempt is made by the Sindh health department as yet to get them repaired.
Many of the operational ambulances also need maintenance and repair on urgent basis to cater any kind of eventuality in future.
Only 11 government ambulances are available in two districts of Karachi division including District Malir and District West while four Karachi districts including Central, South, East and Korangi are simply deprived of rescue ambulances facility.
However, data of tertiary-care hospitals not is included here.
Attendants face immense problems in shifting their seriously ill patients from taluka hospitals to district healthcare facilities and from district hospitals to tertiary-care hospitals due to lack of ambulances.
Although funds are available for repair of ambulances but no attempt is made to get repaired these out of order vehicles, said sources.
Situation in some teaching hospitals is also not satisfactory in Sindh. At least nine ambulances out of total 14 have been out of order at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi for several months. The hospital administration has failed to get rescue vehicles repaired as yet.
Talking to PPI, Executive Director, Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Dr Seemin Jamali, said there are 14 ambulances in the JPMC and all of them are operational.
