KARACHI: Realising need for enhanced health facilities, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah handed over 12 well-equipped ambulances to Tharparkar district for its six taluka hospitals.
“I am pleased to hand over 12 well-equipped and state-of-the-art 4×4 Toyota Hilux Ambulances, two for each Taluka headquarters hospital of Tharparkar for timely transportation of patients from rural and hardest areas to hospitals or even to tertiary level health facilities for management of critical conditions,” he said while addressing a ceremony held here at the CM House in this regard.
The ceremony was attended by MNAs, Senators, MPAs, chairmen taluka municipal committees and concerned officers.
He said that Tharparkar was one of the most under-privileged areas of the province.
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“Its 95% area is desert and facing several socioeconomic issues and natural calamity including drought,” he said and added that the health department was providing health services to 1.65 million population of the district through a network of 253 health facilities, including one DHQ hospital, six THQ hospitals, six RHC, 33 BHU and 207 government dispensaries,” he said.
Murad Shah said that due to complex dynamics of the district there were several factors which were hampering smooth provision of maternal, newborn and child health services.
“The important factors include access, transportation, low literacy, poverty, unawareness, malnutrition, inadequate referral facilities and natural calamities,” he said.
He said the people of the district were facing serious health challenges which resulted in morbidity and mortality among high risk group population especially mother and children.
Murad Ali said that beside several reasons, the high mortality in the district was because of three delays, they were decision to access care, transport and receipt of adequate appropriate treatment. He added other factors are socio-economic and cultural.
“To address these delaying factors, the health department has taken several initiatives during recent years to improve health services and status of the population which includes filling of vacant posts of Medical Officer/ Women Medical Officer and paramedical staff besides posting of many specialist.
“The medicine budget of the district is doubled and health staff is getting very handsome special allowance with the intention to retain them in the hardest area,” he said and added to increase community awareness and to change their health care seeking behavior through health education, the government was hiring 1,000 Lady Health Worker for 100 percent coverage of the district, these LHWS would further provide primary health care and family planning services and would also help in improving referral system.
The CM talking about DHQ hospital of Tharparkar said it was a well-equipped and well-staffed hospital to take care most of the common emergencies of children and mothers.
“We have focused on curative and preventive services through various priority programs like EPI, MNCH, nutrition support program, TB control, malaria/ dengue control and hepatitis control programs,” he said.
Secretary Health Dr Fazal Pechuho addressing the ceremony said that the department was in process of re-structuring with the technical support of World Bank and USAID and hopefully we would soon create Health Management cadre in the department to fill the re-structured positions for overall strengthening of the health system in the province.
Earlier, the chief minister handed over 12 ambulances to the elected representatives of Thar by cutting the ribbon.
