Daily Times

Rural Health Centre (RHC) in Naundero- the hometown of PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, is facing multifarious core issues which need to be resolved on an emergency basis. The 100-bed capacity health center has been managed by Integrated Health Services (IHS) since October 2016, when it was officially handed over along with other hospitals of Larkana division. RHC has been, since serving approximately 400 poverty-stricken poor patients of Naundero and its adjoining villages, who attend the center’s OPD daily.

But, IHS has failed to disperse salaries to its employees across Sindh since the last three months, it was revealed to this Scribe during a visit to the RHC on Saturday. The RHC Medical Superintendent (MS), Dr. Muhammad Sharif Pirzado, has already written a letter to the IHS Senior District Manager informing him about the lack of proper facilities at the RHC including acute shortage of medicines, instruments and equipment.

The letter mentions that basic facilities i.e cotton and bandages are not available for injured patients and that the issue has already been revealed and highlighted during a visit of the deputy commissioner and a media report in last week of February. Dr Pirzado highlighted that emergency medicines are not available in the store of the RHC, and added that costly lifesaving injections (ARV, ASV and Monofar) were found hot, since the refrigerator which stores these injections was non-operational as the battery of the solar system was taken away 15 days ago to another place, and the storekeeper failed to take care of these injections. Dr Pirzado mentioned in the letter that he has telephonically informed about the shortage of medicines to the assistant commissioner after which District Health Officer, Larkana, visited the Centre who assured that if the medicines are not supplied by the IHS, he will arrange them for the benefit of the poor patients.

He further complained about the undisciplined staff and the non-availability of petty cash, and added that Rs.30,000 were given every month as petty cash for daily expenditure, which have not been provided for nearly three months. The center’s electric motor has also been dysfunctional even before his arrival, due to which water shortage is being faced and the hospital is suffering, he added. He said routine tests were being provided to the patients before the taking over of IHS, but now there is acute shortage of medicines, and laboratory tests are also not being conducted, while reagents and biochemicals had been shifted to Ratodero along with vital lab instruments and equipment.

The MS also wrote that the building of the center is damaged owing to lack of repair and renovation work, as IHS has so far exhibited lack of interest and has adopted a delaying mechanism. He continued, this city has political importance in Pakistan and IHS has to develop the center at most modern level, and if IHS fails to provide medicines and petty cash for the service delivery, people will continue to suffer badly, he concluded.

The IHS after receiving this letter immediately deputed its district manager Dr. Khalil Ahmed Katpar to resolve the issues forthwith, who reached and inquired about the problems faced by the RHC. Dr. Katpar secured a list of requirements and assured the MS of resolution of all the issues within next week.