Absence of doctors and paramedics at many of the hospitals on Saturday caused severe difficulties to the patients. The out- patient departments of most of the hospitals, remained closed and a few of the patients arriving were attended at the emergency sections, where the staffers appeared to be exhausted after performing a 72- hour- long duty.
Sources associated with Civil Hospital - Karachi told APP that large majority of doctors did not turn up under the pretext of security concern and non- availability of fuel.
Paramedics did not find public transport to reach their place of work. CHK administration in its desperate efforts sent ambulances for transportation of staff but this did not appear to make much difference.
Plight of patients who were operated upon on Friday and who needed special care was the worst and the concerned specialists could not reach them while availability of essential and relevant support was also missing. Shortage of nurses was strived to be covered by assigning responsibilities to nursing students residing at nurses hostel within CHK premises.
Almost similar was the situation at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. Doctors and other medical staff, on condition of anonymity said no alternative arrangement was made for their transportation. Many of the senior doctors maintained that it was only by Saturday evening that some of the petrol pumps started their business.
Administration at National Institute of Child Health (NICH) had made alternative arrangements to ensure that admitted patients do not suffer due to non- availability of staff.
Negligible number of child patients were brought to some of the out- patients departments, that were closed, but patients were attended by doctors on duty at in-patients department and emergency section. Emergency and Accident Department at Jinnah Post Graduate Medical Center, despite presence of a scanty staff, attempted to provide optimum services to the patients including victims of dog bite.
Nursing students and in- house teaching staff at JPMC Nursing College attempted to compensate for the non- available medical staff at the hospital.