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HYDERABAD, Dec 28: The Civil Hospital Hyderabad administration has asked the Sindh health department to ensure that the hospital got half of the medicines budget for local purchase from the health department and the remaining from the inspection and import depot to avoid shortage of drugs in the future.
The proposal was given in the wake of reports that the Civil Hospital Karachi would be provided with medicines under the same formula.
However, a CHH source on Sunday said the finance department had turned down the request on the ground that rules had to be modified in this regard for which only the Sindh chief secretary was competent.
The CHH however is making a similar proposal to the finance department’s budget section.
The proposal was made after the CHH began facing acute shortage of medicines due to the lethargy of the II depot which did not call tenders for purchase of drugs on time.
The CHH sources said that the II depot was bound to call tenders before the beginning of the fiscal year.
The I. I. depot is responsible for supplying 75 per cent quota of medicines to the hospital and the remaining budget is provided to it in two instalments every year.
Given the rate of bed occupancy and number of patients at the out patient department, the CHH faces a deficit close to Rs31 million.
The CHH has to look after Jamshoro and city branches as well as an eye hospital trough the medicines budget.
UPLIFT plan: The Hyderabad District Council will discuss the Rs500 million development package, announced by former Sindh governor Mohammedmian Soomro for the district, on Monday.
Q. Mohammad Hakim and other members submitted a requisition with convener Nawab Rashid Ali Khan for the session to get an assurance from the district government as to how and when the package would be implemented.
Out of the first instalment of Rs250 million of the development package, Rs9.067 million could be utilized by the end of fiscal year 2002-2003 and the remaining amount lapsed on June 30, 2003.
Mr Hakim told this correspondent that the amount lapsed due to the absence of a project director of the plan and development works of sewerage and drainage schemes remained incomplete in the three talukas of the district.
He said it was the responsibility of the district government to ensure that works were completed on time.
The DCO was working as the project director at first but later a new director was appointed who was not delegated powers of drawing and disbursing funds.
According to Hyderabad District Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman, the Sindh government had reappropriated the lapsed amount under the directive of the Sindh governor.
