• Hospital Management Board meeting to take up bifurcation proposal tomorrow
• Critics believe decision, if taken, will destroy LUH as well as functioning of LUMHS
• LUH MS says proposal is in works for having separate administrations and budgets for two hospitals

HYDERABAD: The incumbent management of the Liaquat University Hospital (LUH) has come up with a ‘novel’ idea of separating the LUH Jamshoro from LUH Hyderabad.

The proposal — on the face of it — is aimed at altering the fundamental structure of the historic institution, which is something no government has ever thought of.

Critics believe the step could potentially harm, or rather destroy, the hospital as well as the university’s functioning.

LUH Medical Superintendent (MS) Dr Ershad Hussain Kazmi floated the idea as part of the agenda for the Hospital Management Board meeting to be held on Friday (tomorrow).

The LUH remained attached with the Liaquat Medical College (LMC), established soon after independence in 1951. It was then upgraded to the Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro in 2001. It was then headed by Prof Jan M Memon.

From day one, the LUH is working under a single medical superintendent. Until federal subjects were devolved, universities were controlled by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) and finally universities were placed under the provincial government’s domain after the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.

The LUH, being Sindh’s second largest teaching hospital, caters to the needs of millions of people from Hyderabad and other districts. The idea for two independent LUHs was perhaps to improve its working which only needed a better and competent administration.

‘Proposal made on health minister’s directives’

Speaking to Dawn over the phone, MS Dr Kazmi said the health minister’s directive was conveyed to him by the Sindh health secretary to prepare a proposal to keep two hospitals independent with separate administrations.

“Its modalities can be worked out in the Health Management Board’s meeting,” he said and added: “We are preparing a proposal for having separate administrations and budgets for two hospitals.”

The MS’s proposal listed at serial number eight of the proposed agenda with other items, including a permission for approval for hiring of human resource, grant of funds for repair of machinery and equipment, special audit report for years 2020-2025, etc.

The Friday board meeting is to be chaired by Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Jamshoro Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Ikram Din Ujjan under the Sindh Teaching Hospitals (Establishment of Management Board) Act 2020.

The meeting was being convened in view of multiple issues of administrative and financial natures confronting this second largest teaching hospital of Sindh.

Many units of the LUH were simultaneously working in Jamshoro and Hyderabad City.

Consultants of the LUMHS take care of the units as heads of these units while registrars and other staff from the Sindh health department also serve there.

The LUH sources said that the proposal to separate Jamshoro and Hyderabad hospitals was “mind-boggling”. Despite their presence, the public still needed much better healthcare facilities.

“We are not in favour of this proposal practically. Since it is the minister’s directive therefore it is being worked out,” said a LUH doctor.

Bifurcation to have serious implications

The entire LUMHS faculty, including professors, assistant and associate professors, works in the LUH as per their job description, offering hands-on-training to under and postgraduate students besides looking after wards/units.

“It will be an immature decision of the Sindh health department if it is working on it especially when Hyderabad doesn’t have a public-sector medical college or a university,” said former LUMHS VC Prof Dr Noshad Shaikh, who laid the foundation of LUMHS Bilawal Medical College (BMC) for boys.

“Purpose of having LUH City and Jamshoro branches by founding fathers was to ensure better healthcare and students’ training simultaneously,” he said, adding: “If two hospitals are separated then one of them will be left high and dry unless attached with some public sector medical university.”

Outgoing LUMHS VC Prof Dr Bikha Ram echoed the same concerns. “It will potentially have serious implications even for the LUMHS where training of under- and postgraduates will be hit badly. The LUMHS can lose a number of seats when bed occupancy is lost in the LUH after bifurcation,” he said.

He added the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) would revise the number of seats for the LUMHS, which covers several rural Sindh’s tagged districts.

“How will students get training? When Col Najeeb had planned it, elective cases were handled in LUH City primarily before their shifting to Jamshoro. So, this is the best methodology to deal with and should not be touched,” he cautioned.

An administrative and fiscal crisis

The LUH is facing the worst-ever administrative and financial crisis for the past one year where vital machinery remained dysfunctional. Several machines procured several years back still remained uninstalled.

One machine was procured even a decade back. The LUMHS faculty has complained about it in writing to authorities.

Complaints are widespread about non-availability of facilities, services and equipment in the LUH.

While Prof Dr M Kashif Shaikh had already poured his heart out before successive hospital bosses about virtually non-functional cardiology ward, another LUMHS faculty member from orthopaedics unit told Dawn, on condition of anonymity, that “under compulsion I am asking patients to buy implants from private stores as these were unavailable in hospital. Nowhere in trauma cases such purchase is allowed in public sector hospital but we are doing it unfortunately”.

The LUH’s crisis was purely of administrative nature, the experts say.

Over the last 15 years, the Sindh government has pumped billions of rupees into the LUH for procurement of vital advanced equipment besides medicines’ budget for better healthcare of patients.

“Unscrupulous LUH officials, including directors and MSs have devoured these resources through forgery and malpractices amidst no accountability,” one of the experts believes.

Machinery procured with public money remained unutilised in the LUH even after being procured a decade back, they lament.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2026