Despite a passage of three weeks of the devolution of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) Sindh government is failed to release adequate funds to facility, causing severe hardships to the management in facilitating the patients, says Co-chairman JPMC steering committee Professor Liaquat Ahmed on Monday.
He warned that facility would be closed down if urgent funds were not released as per promises made by newly-appointed Health Secretary Rizwan Ahmed eighteen days ago.
He was addressing crowded press conference at Najamuddin auditorium JPMC to inform the media about the problem that they currently facing after devolution of the hospital.
We have been run out of funds since start of the month of July as due to non-allocation of budget for the year 2012 doctors are compelled to postpone the operation on the facility.
Criticising the devolvement of the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), National Institute of Child Health (NICH) and Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Dr Liaquat said that 90 percent Federally-run health institutes have not been devolved under 18th Amendment.
Devolution of JPMC, NICVH and NICH predicting the malicious intensions of vested interests, which are against the spirit of constitution after approval of 18th Amendment, he marked.
He regretted that these devolved institutions were earlier funded by the Federal Government but now they are facing dearth of money as new budget to these facilities yet to be allocated by Sindh government.
He informed that facility is facing scarcity of oxygen, nitrogen gases besides medicines due to which surgeries and other major operations have come to a halt.
Hundred of operations are being deferred due to non-availability of oxygen, nitrogen and other essential things, Dr Ahmed notified.
"Secretary Health Sindh Rizwan Ahmed assured us that new budget would be released soon but despite passage of 18 days now administration comes on the verge to close services in hospitals due to lack of money" , he underscored
He said that head of the departments of JPMC hold meetings with Director to seek funds where they are informed that hospital is facing financial constraints.
The ultimate consequences definitely have to be faced by the poor patients, said Dr Afridi, adding that we have been running the departments with the help of donors and philanthropists for last 18 days.
He said salaries of the junior paramedics and house officers have not yet been paid for the last three months. Dr Afridi said that JPMC is the cheapest facility for the poor patients which he forecast would not be able to facilitate them further, if funds were not released immediately.
He demanded early release of funds so that they could facilitate the poor patients visiting the facility for their treatment.
The institutions namely Jinnah hospital, the National Institute of Cardio-Vascular Diseases (NICVD) and the National Institute of Child Health (NICH) are all located on the same road and have a total of 3,500 staffers, who are running scared for their jobs.
After the notification new Sindh Health Secretary, Rizwan Ahmed, met the administrations of the three hospitals and assured them that no one would be mistreated.
The hospitals are running short on medicines and other essentials as they have yet to get their budgets for the first quarter. Jinnah hospital has 2,500 staffers, NICVD 700 and NICH 650.