KARACHI: The Cardiology Department at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), Sindh’s largest tertiary care hospital, may be going defunct due to the shortage of medical staff and non-functioning of significant equipment, sources at CHK revealed recently.
The Cardiology Department has faced an acute shortage of cardiologists, skilled nurses and technical staff for several years. The private staff working in the department under a non-governmental organization (NGO) was also released from their duties due to the financial crises.
Similarly, the department’s modern gamma camera device and angiography machine have not been functioning for more than two years. The hospital management was unable to get the costly equipment repaired yet.
Patients have been facing problems due to the shortage of specialist doctors, nurses and equipment in the cardiology department. The shortage of funds and unavailability of healthcare professionals has brought one of the best departments of the institution on the cusp of being shut down.
The patients, that came to CHK for treatment, were being referred to the National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases (NICVD), Karachi and other private health facilities as there was no way to treat them on site. Some patients were also being treated in the Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Trauma Institute nearby.
Mansoor Rizvi, the Director of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital, was not available for comment.