Daily Times

The Medical Superintendent (MS), Chandka Medical College Hospital (CMCH), Larkana, Dr Ershad Hussain Kazmi, has refuted the allegations levelled against him by the Principal, Chandka Medical College (CMC), Prof Kheo Ram Dholia which he sent to provincial health secretary.

Dr Kazmi while talking to this scribe on Sunday said that at the very outset he received a complaint from one of CMCH Block’s Additional Medical Superintendent that professors and consultants are neither taking rounds nor attending OPDs due to which poor patients are suffering during lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 pandemic. He said the same complaint was forwarded to the Vice Chancellor (VC), Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical University (SMBBMU), Larkana, for necessary action but, he added, complaint was instead made against me by the CMC Principal. He asked is Urine DR test conducted in the CMC? He said Collection Point of Jamshoro’s Liaquat University Hospital laboratory has been established in Larkana along with that of Karachi’s DOW University but Larkana’s Medical University has not yet been able to give people of Larkana a simple lab facility to conduct Urine DR test. He said CMCH has established BSL3 level Covid laboratory for which only machinery was supplied without provision of funds but “we established it from our internal resources”.

He said 4-bed ICU was run by them since long but I took out 12 ventilators and obtained 10 more from other sources and established 22 bed ICU within a month. He said what I have done within three months they have failed to do since last 47 years. He said there was one dysfunctional digital x-ray when I took over here as MS three months ago which was not only repaired but new digital x-ray has also been installed at casualty which is working round the clock at no cost to the government.

Dr Kazmi said third digital X-ray will soon be installed in Teaching Block. He said CMCH is facing shortage of 600 people but despite that cleanliness has improved. He said those people will be annoyed from whom I have withdrawn drivers and other staff who were working with them since 2013 but drawing salaries from CMCH. He said state of the art lab has also been established by Nawabshah Medical University where Genes DNA tests are also being conducted but Urine DR test is unavailable in the CMC.

He said professors have to take rounds daily and regularly of all wards, casualty and attend OPDs properly and start operations on time but no one has visited Casualty since last 30 years, OPDs, OTs and morning rounds are always delayed for ulterior motives. He said evening & night rounds have never been conducted at CMCH as per protocols mentioned in the university’s code book due to which indoor patients are facing serious troubles.

Prof Dholia had complained earlier against non-provision of PPE and shortage of other facilities including medicines so forth.

Meanwhile, one of the SMBBMU professors sent WhatsApp message to this scribe in which he said, on condition of not revealing his identity, that “worried from the real issues of its own, SMBBMU administration has started raising issues to divert public attention from their core issues of education and the research at the university”. One such example is the current letter of CMC principal against the CMCH MS, he wrote. In an attempt to highlight hospital issues Dr Dhalia looked bypassing the proper channel of university for this correspondence. As per university’s codal formalities letters are written through the registrar mentioning the approval of the vice chancellor while in this letter the proper channel appeared violated, he claimed.

He said that this has created strong doubt of some political conspiracy against Dr Ershad Kazmi. He said that after one year and nine months period grip of the VC in the university matters seems to be very weak, he alleged. He said that university is still not having regular registrar adding in the time of COVID-19, university has taken no initiative for the research on this pandemic. Director Research was changed three times in the past 12 months and current director research also does not fulfil the HEC criteria for the post, he further alleged.

Furthermore, he further alleged, Director Research and Director ORIC is the same person who is also having the charge of Director Pharmacy Institute thus one person is looking after the charge of three posts of BPS-20 at the same time. He said that it is surprising that CMC principal has written letter against the CMCH MS while no similar letter was written by GMMMC principal against the GMMMC MS while issues of lack of hospital cooperation were also strongly mentioned by the professors working in Sukkur.

He said SMBBMU very badly needs reforms on urgent basis in accordance with the Charter of the University and government policy to fulfil the dream of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to make Larkana as a city of knowledge. He said both university and CMCH should collaborate and work for the betterment of poor ailing patients and how to eradicate COVID-19 pandemic and leave aside all their personal interests, likes and dislikes.