July 30, 2007	Monday	Rajab 14, 1428

KARACHI, July 29: Dust covers the tiled floor, surgical operation table and the lights around it, trolleys, cupboards and medical equipment in the operation theatre (OT) of the Lyari Maternity Home. The OT is lying locked for almost two decades.

A facility that couldn’t function even for a single day, the OT symbolises the countless government projects which are initiated with a huge chunk of public money and with a lot of pomp in the name of public good but abandoned without a decision on their fate.

The initiative to provide an OT at the Lyari Maternity Home was unique as none of the 30 government maternity homes in the city has an OT.

“It could prove to be of great benefit to poor patients who cannot afford the expensive surgery and even traveling to some other health facility for the same. Unfortunately, the OT couldn’t open for want of an obstetrician and the relevant staff,” regrets Dr Khurtoom Fatima, in-charge of the maternity home located in UC-11, Gharib Shah, Lyari.

While the maternity home, one of the oldest in the city, refuses to take complicated cases that may require a surgery, it’s open for a four-hour OPD in the morning and 24-hour for normal delivery cases. There has been a significant drop in the number of patients coming to the hospital over the past three years, though mainly due to the deteriorating law and order situation in this part of the town.

“Working in such conditions where you fear for your own the patients’ life, is difficult. Often we have to shut down the facility to escape being caught in cross fire. Apprehending that shooting may start anytime, the staff leaves as soon as their duty ends. I opted to work here only because it is close to my residence, says another doctor, Dr Tasneem Memon.

The average number of delivery cases handled every month at the hospital in 2004 was around 150 which has dropped to 60-90 this year. The cases handled at the OPD have also come down by almost 50 per cent.

Staff and performance

It’s surprising to note that despite security concerns and a sharp decline in the number of patients, the maternity home has 47 staff members – 22 for the OPD and 27 for the delivery section. The double-storey facility also serves as a vaccination centre. The staff includes three doctors, one staff nurse, five midwives, four lady health visitors, three vaccinators and four ward-boys. Dr Khurtoom has been serving as an RMO (resident medical officer) for seven years.

The unhygienic conditions prevailing in the labour room makes one assume that no patient has been admitted to the 10-bed ward for long. This is in spite of the fact that there are seven sweepers and nine midwives among the staff. One can safely assume that the staff supposed to ensure cleanliness and hygienic conditions are not efficient or not attending to their duties properly.

“The condition of this maternity home was much worse until a few weeks back. It has improved to some extent because of the renovation work, which is still under way,” Dr Tasneem said.

According to a town administration official, the renovation is being carried out at a cost of Rs1.8 million. No deadline for the completion of the work has been set, he says.

No tangible facilities

Dr Khurtoom revealed that before the inception of the incumbent city government, food used to be served to the patients admitted here. The hospital management had also been receiving Rs1,000 under the head of maintenance on request. “Both these facilities have since been withdrawn and the management is currently without any financial support from the authorities,” she stated.

She also complained of an acute shortage of medicines. “The medicines we ask for are always in short supply while those which we don’t need are supplied to us regularly,” she wondered.

She pointed out that patients are charged only Rs3 for an OPD slip and Rs25 for an admission case. However, she added, people felt that the services offered at the hospital were poor because patients had to get all relevant tests done from some other institution and purchase medicines, injections, drips and other things used in delivery cases on their own.

The maternity home does not offer diagnostic facilities. There is an ultrasound machine at the disposal of the management but it has been lying out of order for quite some time and dumped in the storeroom. The x-ray machine provided to the hospital few years ago is currently being used in a government hospital located in Saddar Town.