KARACHI: Emergency victims are being sent back without treatment since the emergency department of Sindh Government Children Hospital (SGCH) near Nagan Chowrangi has been non-functional for the last six months.

Sindh Children's Hospital has no emergency department

Officials at SGCH say an OPD ward has been set up to cope with patients who arrive in an emergency. However, it is only operational during OPD shifts.

As a result, the government hospital, which is supposed to provide free medicine and treatment to everyone, is experiencing a shortage of drugs. According to officials, the tertiary care children's hospital has been without a laboratory since December 2021.

Poverty Eradication Initiative has received funds from the SGCH Medical Superintendent, Dr Nadeem Sheikh, according to an interview with The Express Tribune published on Monday (NGO). 
A public-private cooperation agreement was formed in 2016. 
Sindh's Health Department approved a budget for the hospital by January 2021. 

On the other hand, the hospital has been in financial trouble since January 2021. 

He also stated that the Emergency Department was closed because of a lack of money.

The hospital treated a huge number of children who had been infected with both fever and diarrhoea. 
The hospital employs 87 people.

This is the fourth time the hospital has had a shortfall, according to Dr Sheikh. Due to a shortage of funding, the hospital's laboratory is also shuttered. Previously, there were 250 beds at the hospital. The hospital, on the other hand, is currently completely full.

Only an outpatient clinic and a small emergency room are available at the facility. This facility is not suitable for minors under the age of 18-years-old. The DHOs are in charge of running the immunisation centre. 

The vaccination drive in Sindh prompted the health department to establish an emergency room and immunisation facility in the hospital. 

Although the folks were having difficulties, as a government employee, he was working to ensure that they could get the medical care they needed.

The Hospital's Poverty Eradication Initiative (PEI) is headed by Dr Tawfiq, who informed the Express Tribune that the MoU began in 2016 and will last until 2027. However, Sindh's Health Department is not providing the funding. The hospital employed over 350 people from PEI. Employee resignations owing to salary non-payments have increased.

Shiekh claimed the facility had an annual budget of about $400 million. However, the allotment has yet to be released by the provincial administration. 
"For the last ten months, the SGCH has not received its allotment. Employees have taken to the streets on numerous occasions to express their displeasure with this. The health department should release SGCH."

Hundreds of children from all throughout the country are being treated at this hospital. Sindh Health Department professionals are there, but there is a shortage of medical facilities because of funding constraints, according to the children's parents. 
Every hospital's emergency department is critical.

Patients, doctors, and nurses are all affected by a hospital's budget. An immediate response from the Sindh Health Department has been requested. Over unpaid wages, doctors have staged a sit-in. Every time it comes up, no one ever seems to pay attention. 

Poor people can no longer afford to go to a private hospital for treatment because of growing costs. Considering the current state of affairs, the hospital serves as a central hub for residents across the province.