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Public Sector Hospitals of Karachi - Over 450 posts of doctors lying vacant

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI- Over 450 posts of doctors are lying vacant in the city’s different health care facilities of Sindh government, thereby badly affecting the patients’ care in such hospitals.

Sources in the provincial health department said that around 450 posts of doctors are lying vacant in seven big and small hospitals, dispensaries and health units of Sindh government, located in different parts of the metropolis.

The provincial government had recently filled the vacant posts of doctors in the hospitals of the interior Sindh, but a number of posts of doctors are lying vacant in different hospitals of the city for the last few years.

The hospitals and dispensaries where posts of doctors are lying vacant include Sindh government hospital,  New Karachi; Sindh government hospital, Liaquatabad; Sindh government’s children hospital, North Karachi; Sindh government’s Orangi Town’s hospital, popularly known as Qatar hospital; Sindh government hospital, Korangi; Sindh government hospital, Saudabad; Sindh government hospital, Ibrahim Hyderi and number of other public sector’s dispensaries and health units.

Acute shortage of doctors in the city’s public sector hospitals was not only causing inconvenience to patients, but also putting extra-burden on existing health practitioners.

A central leader of Pakistan Medical Association (PMA), Dr Qaiser Sajjad, said that the number of patients visiting these hospitals has been growing with each passing day and hence the government must not only fill all the posts of doctors lying vacant there since long, but should also provide proper operation theatres, OPD services, medicines and specialists doctors to overcome the load of patients.

He suggested to the Sindh health department to hire the services doctors and specialist doctors on merit as they will perform their duties dedicatedly and diligently.        
 
Meanwhile, the city’s director health Dr Zafar Ejaz on being contacted said that a summary for hiring services of doctors to overcome shortage of doctors in the public sector hospitals of the metropolis has already been sent to health department and hoped that a decision in this regard would be taken anytime soon.