Diagnostic tools have been out of order for years in Sindh govt's hospitals

KARACHI: The CT scan and MRI machines of major Karachi-based hospitals have been lying out of order for a couple of years due to the negligence of the Sindh Health Department and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC).   

The major diagnostic machines in major hospitals in the Karachi city including Dr Ruth  Phafu Civil Hospital(CHK) Karachi, Abbasi Shaheed Hospital(ASH), Sindh Government Qatar Hospital, Sindh Government Lyari General Hospital, Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad and National Institute of Child Health (NICH) were lying out of order since several years.   

An administrative official at Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi said that the visiting and indoor patients are facing grave hardships at CHK because the CT scan and MRI machines have been lying out of order for the last three years. 

The CHK is Sindh's largest teaching hospital, where many patients are brought daily from different areas of Karachi and the rest of Sindh. Some of them needed diagnostic services such as CT scans and MRI.    

The modern Gamma Camera device and angiography machines were lying out of order at the Cardiology Department of Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) for one and half years, while hospital management could not get this costly equipment repaired. 

Similarly, visiting patients face grave inconvenience at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) ) as two major diagnostic machines are also not functioning in the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation-run hospital.   

The CT scan machines were also not operating in Sindh Government Qatar Hospital, Lyari General Hospital  Karachi and Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad.     

The latest Robotic Surgery Machine of Sindh Government Qatar Hospital, Orangi Town, Karachi, was also idle for the last seven years due to a shortage of funds and staff. 

The National Institute of Child Health (NICH) 's sole MRI machine was also non-functional for two years. The children are being shifted to a private diagnostic lab for tests. 

On the other hand, Sindh Health Department hinted at outsourcing Radiology Departments of major hospitals in Sindh over administrative failure to run costly equipment despite having a budget for maintenance and repair.