KARACHI: Four major departments of the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) are operating without permanent heads of department (HoDs) and in-charges for the past several months.

The major departments of the KMC-run hospital functioning without permanent heads due to shortage of faculty are cardiology, urology, neurology and accident and emergency departments.

No new professor has been hired to fill the vacant posts after retirement of heads of department for the past eight to nine years.

Sources at the ASH say that four important departments were being run without heads or in-charges while six to seven department heads would retire soon from their posts.

The shortage of faculty members may affect the performance of this teaching hospital, if recruitment of assistant professors and professors is not initiated soon. Approximately 650 posts are already lying vacant in this KMC’s largest tertiary-care institution.

The posts include doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and other administrative staff. The shortage has badly disturbed functioning of this health facility. About 90 posts of resident medical officers and consultants, 75 posts of staff nurses, 100 posts of sweepers, 100 posts of security guards, many posts are lying vacant in the hospital for years.

Senior director of medical and health survives of KMC Dr Birbal Genani said that several requests had already been sent to the Sindh government, but no attention was paid to this issue.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2019