Due to the delay in the implementation of the ECNEC scheme of 2006, there are still no facilities of MRI and CT scanners at the four largest teaching hospitals of the province.
These hospitals are: The Civil Hospital Karachi, the Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH) Larkana, the People’s Medical College Hospital Nawabshah and the Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad.
According to CMCH sources, the scanners have been installed by the suppliers after completion of construction work, however, electricity fittings and power supply have still not been provided.
The installation of a heavy duty diesel generator and the procurement of 400KVA pole mounted transformer is also been pending for a year while the contractor seems to have disappeared from the scene.
Apparently, the procurement of equipment was deliberately delayed by Health Department officials for their nefarious motives and now the influential contractors are using dilly-delaying tactics for basic contract requirements and obligations.
The ECNEC had approved a scheme, costing Rs 564 million, in its meeting held in 2006 and it was decided that the federal and provincial governments would share the cost on an equal basis.
The poverty-stricken people are forced to have their MRI and CT scan tests carried out at private medical centres, which charge a heavy amount of money for them.
