KARACHI, Jan 27: As many as 62 health care units built by the city government have been lying inoperative mainly for want of staff, according to informed sources. These hospitals, clinics, rural health centres, urban health centres, maternity homes and dispensaries have been built over a couple of years or so in different towns of Karachi. However, due to shortage of funds and the longstanding ban on recruitment, the city government has failed to make the operational.

A source in the city government’s health department said that construction work of all these units had almost been completed but owing to the ban on recruitment, no staff could have been appointed so far.

He said that the authorities concerned were not approving the SNE (sanctioned new expenditures), obviously due to the ban and non-availability of the required funds.

It is learnt that at some stage, the SNEs for 19 of these unites had been endorsed by the city council but the specified reasons have rendered the city government helpless.

Owing to the situation, people of the towns like, Shah Faisal, Malir, Orangi, Baldia, Gadap and Keamari, have remained deprived of the vital health care facilities which would, otherwise, have been available within or very close to their localities.

Moreover, the health department requires at least 100 doctors and 300 paramedics, including nurses, dispensers, dressers, x-ray technicians and other laboratory staff, etc., for a good number of the health care units already functioning in different parts of the city. These units include the district council dispensaries.

The source said that after appointment of doctors on a contract basis and posting of the doctors belonging to the now-defunct school health programme, the treatment and other facilities at some of the 271 old health units being managed by the city government had improved considerably.

It is further learnt that 45-50 of the old health units in different towns are either non-functional or under-utilised for various reasons, mainly non-availability of doctors and paramedics, medicines, equipment and furniture.

When contacted, the EDO Health Dr A. D. Sajnani said that his department was making efforts towards fully reviving big hospitals, maternity homes and other such units.

“We are also working for a full-fledged functioning of new health care facilities lying inoperative for want of staff and financial resources,” he added.

He said he had recently reminded the relevant authorities of all the problems and, in turn, was assured that the provincial and city governments would look into the matter on a priority basis.

“We will approach the provincial government for the allocation of special funds to the city government’s health department and relaxation in the ban on recruitment, particularly in the case of doctors,” he said, pointing out that many posts were lying vacant following retirement of personnel over years.