Abbasi Shaheed Hospital’s medico-legal ward functioning on donations

Karachi: Abbasi Shaheed hospital’s medico-legal section is reportedly functioning over “donations”  of Additional Police Surgeon (APS) and other donors, ARY reported on Friday.

The medico-legal ward of Sindh’s third-biggest government hospital is on the verge of collapse. The APS of the hospital has blamed the hospital’s Master of Surgery (MS) and Sindh government for the worsening condition of the ward.

Talking exclusively to ARY news APS Shahid Nizam said that the Medico-legal section lacks essential medical supplies including X-ray sheets, stationery and medical books. He and other staff members purchase supplies out of their own pockets, he claimed.

” I contribute Rs4 thousand while other Medico-legal officers give Rs2 thousand to purchase necessary supplies”, the APS added.

He said that they have written several letters to officials informing them about the condition of the ward but their pleas have been completely ignored.

He said that due to lack of x-ray sheets the X-ray service at the medico-legal ward is unavailable for the past two years. Poor people have to pay hefty amounts for x-rays at private clinics; while criminals are often successful in getting fake x-ray reports to register bogus cases, he added.

Nizam added that Karachi’s government hospitals are seriously understaffed, there are 90 vacancies for male and 20 female MLO’s in Karachi, but only 20 male and 5 female MLO’s are posted currently.

He said that only two MLO’s are posted at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), two at Abbasi Shaheed hospital and only one at Civil hospital Karachi. Six senior officers have retired in the last two years but their replacements have not been appointed, he added.

He also pointed out that Karachi’s six medico-legal centres located in Korangi, Saudabad, Lyari, Qatar, New Karachi and Liaquatabad have been shut for many years.

The morgue at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital that requires three attendants only has one, who has to be on-duty 24/7, he added.  The worsening conditions of the hospital are heart-wrenching but he cannot see any betterment in the near future too, he added.