HYDERABAD, Nov 6: The health department has asked the management of the Civil Hospital Hyderabad to purchase medicines from the available budget as soon as possible as tenders for the medicines had been called, a reliable source at the hospital said.

The Civil Hospital Hyderabad has been experiencing a shortage of medicines for the last four months. Besides, the shortage is all the more acute as the management of the hospital has banned medicines from being purchased locally in the light of the fact that the budget for local purchases would come to an end if the practice continues.

A reliable source said that an official letter had been sent to the Civil Hospital following hue and cry by the hospital management about non-availability of medicines and the subsequent unrest prevalent among doctors as well as indoor and outdoor patients.

Referring to a news item, the source claimed that on Wednesday the Sindh governor had chaired a meeting regarding health affairs and he had ordered that a grant of Rs2.5 million be released for the Civil Hospital Karachi.

He stated that the same yardstick should be applied to the Civil Hospital Hyderabad because it catered to the needs of patients both from the city as well as the interior of Sindh.

He said that the II depot provided 75 per cent of the quota in the shape of medicines to the hospital at the beginning of the fiscal year for being utilized in wards, casualty and OPD departments while the remaining 25 per cent was provided in the shape of cash through half-yearly instalments.

However, this time the medicines have not been provided as yet.

SPECIAL GRANT: Meanwhile, the health adviser, Noman Saigal, told this correspondent over the telephone that no special grant was given to the Civil Hospital Karachi by the governor, and added that the amount would soon be released because it had not received its annual budget as yet.