Burns centres’ project in limbo

MN Report

Karachi: Sindh government’s much-trumpeted plan of setting up five burns centres in different hospitals of the province could not take off owing to inordinate delay in constructing their buildings.

Sources told Medical News that although the burns centres project which was initiated by Sindh Health Department in 2009 at an estimated cost of Rs255 million was scheduled to be completed in 2011.

Under the plan, which was approved by former Sindh health minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed, burns centres were to be set up at Sindh Government Liaquatabad Hospital, Liaquat University and Hospital, Jamshoro;  Chandka Hospital, Larkana; Ghulam Muhammad Mehar Medical Collage, Sukkur and Civil Hospital, Mirpurkhas.

Sources said that though the Burns Center Karachi, being operated under public-private partnership, was handling a large number of burn injuries cases of the entire province, it lacked facilities required to cope up with such a large number of burn injuries patients because it has only 65 beds.

“In fact, patients with burn injuries who are brought to the health facility from far flung areas of the province suffer the most when they are not admitted as in-door patients owing to shortage of beds,’ sources regretted and urged the health authorities to expedite its plan of opening burns centres in different parts of the province.