The Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), at Paediatrics Department, Unit III, Civil Hospital Karachi, formally inaugurated in January 2003 is yet to be functional for want of qualified staff in adequate numbers.
Chairman, Paediatrics Ward, Unit III, CHIC Professor Mohammad Iqbal Memon, talking to APP here on Sunday said PICU, which is first of its kind in any of the government hospitals across the province, with eight bed capacity and all necessary equipment like ventilators and monitors is yet to be made operational.
Acute paucity of required manpower was cited to be the major hindrance. Professor Iqbal maintained that his unit otherwise too is facing an acute shortage of staff with particular reference to nurses.
At the moment there were said to be only one nurse per shift, attending 54 child patients with the support of some medical students and fresh graduates.
Dearth of nurses was said to be besides the fact that there was also shortage of other helping staff including sweepers and soforth.
"For the PICU we need to have two to three nurses per shift and as a last resort local philanthropists have been appealed to arrange qualified nurses with provision for their monthly salaries", he said adding that response in this regard is awaited.
Professor Memon appreciative of the co-operation extended by the CHK administration said there is generally a shortage of nursing staff at CHK.
With regard to availability of funds, he said close public-private partnership is pre-requisite to initiate fresh projects and meet the running expenditure, particularly due to constant increase in the turnover of patients.
According to him owing to the very reason Paediatrics Ward Unit- III has embarked on varied programme and projects including the Khatija Essa Tai Ward Lab, opened on Sunday with provision for Chemical Analyser and related gadgets so as to avoid additional expenditures incurred on lab tests undertaken at laboratories outside CHK.
According to him the donors have also committed to provide required kits and meet the running expenditure.
This was extremely significant due to massive turnover of children upto age 15 at the department comprising three units as well as at its Diarrhoea Treatment Unit, catering some 1000 kids each month.
Dr Memon mentioned that around 250 child patients admitted to his unit (Unit III) per month report with wide range of serious conditions including severe diarrhoea, sepsis, acute renal failure, meningitis, tetanus and malignancies.
This is besides the fact that children with thalassaemia also visit the unit for blood transfusion, he added mentioning that allocated budget is insufficient to meet the running expenditure and therefore philanthropic support is acquired.
However, during the last four months one could witness a marked surge in the expenditure against the donations collected. Expenses were said to come to Rs 2.5 lacs (0.25 million) per month, that is, Rs 30 lacs (three million) per year against 25 lacs (2.5 million) spent in the year 2003.