A pregnant woman is lying on a hospital bed. Source: Reuters
HYDERABAD:
Severe shortages of medicines, diagnostic facilities and functional medical equipment have forced public hospitals in Hyderabad to struggle to provide even basic health care, largely due to alleged apathy and poor oversight by Sindh health ministry officials.
According to reports, essential medicines have almost disappeared from the Civil Hospital in Hyderabad as well as all taluka hospitals in the city. Even routine laboratory tests cannot be carried out at taluka-level facilities due to absence or breakdown of basic machines. As a result, patients are forced to seek treatment at private hospitals and laboratories, where they have to pay thousands of rupees even for preliminary tests, adding to their financial distress.
The situation has worsened to the point that the trauma center built on Hala Naka Road has remained non-functional, while large government hospital buildings present a deserted appearance at night. This places an ever-increasing burden on the Hyderabad Civil Hospital, the only major government health facility in the city and interior Sindh, where patients arrive daily in large numbers from across the region. However, the civil hospital itself suffers from non-functional machinery and inadequate treatment facilities.
Hospital sources say prolonged political interference and alleged appointments to senior administrative positions based on influence rather than merit have resulted in chronic mismanagement. This has already led to unrest among attendants and, more alarmingly, to complaints related to the transfer and alleged sale of newborns.
At present, the Civil Hospital in Hyderabad has only one MRI machine and one CT scan machine operational, while other diagnostic machines have remained out of service for months. Patients are advised to wait one to two months for an MRI. In the emergency department, only first aid is provided, after which critical patients are referred to Karachi. The burn unit faces a similar situation, lacking modern treatment facilities despite having a designated unit.
Sources further revealed that even in the intensive care unit, immediate testing facilities are not available, forcing patients to undergo tests in private. Hundreds of patients visit the OPDs of the hospital daily, but due to non-availability of medicines provided by the government, doctors often prescribe medicines to be purchased from outside.
Conditions in Taluka hospitals in Hyderabad are said to be even worse. Facilities such as Bhittai Government Hospital Latifabad, Government Hospital Qasimabad, Kohsar Hospital Latifabad, Government Hospital Pretabad and Government Hospital Hali Road, along with several basic health units, lack not only testing facilities but even essential medicines. Patients suffering from serious illnesses are routinely referred to the civil hospital without proper examination, while OPD patients are advised to visit private medical stores and laboratories.
