KARACHI, Nov 8: Sindh Health Minister Syed Sardar Ahmed told Sindh Assembly on Wednesday that some 90 per cent existing vacancies for doctors would be filled within a fortnight. Some 1,500 doctors are now available and they would be posted on these vacancies.

Replying to a question asked by Dr Mehreen Razzak Bhutto during question hour, Mr Ahmed said the provincial cabinet had approved a proposal for incentives to the medical staff discharging their duties in rural areas and this would lead to an increase of Rs3,000 to Rs5,000 in their salaries. The incentives, he added would also create attraction in rural area posting for the medical staff.

In reply to various supplementary questions, the minister pointed out that all union councils had Basic Health Units. Although there could be a shortage of staff at the BHUs, none of them had been closed down.

“Our slogan is ‘Health for All’, but it has not been fully delivered. The government does have the required funds but the same could not be utilised properly.”

Mr Ahmed said that now the effort of the government is to make all the BHUs and RHUs (Rural Health Centres) 100 per cent functional.

He disclosed that a proposal was under consideration for merging three or four BHUs and posting one or two doctors with a vehicle to enable them remain mobile. The said proposal would be approved this month and lady doctors would be posted in rural areas.

The minister informed the house that CT Scan and MRI machines would be installed in all five teaching hospitals this year whereas arrangements were afoot for providing these hospitals with dialysis machines.

He said these machines could have been provided earlier but the matter had hit delays due to the non-availability of basic infrastructure for their installation.

In reply to a question, Sardar Ahmed said that the setting up of Management Committees for Hospitals in Karachi and Sukkur was being reviewed in order to decentralise them to ease the bureaucratic hold and make them work freely, besides ensuring achievement of the objective of providing health facilities to common man. In this regard, he said, the Hospitals Management Ordinance would be amended.

Answering another question, the health minister said that the government would also provide ultra-sound and x-ray machines along with technicians to hospitals. Equipment for maximum possible laboratory tests was also being provided to each Rural Health Centre.

Referring to the provision of substandard medicines to hospitals and other medical centres, he told the house that teams were being formed at the Monitoring Section of the Health Department which would visit these facilities. In this regard, letters had been sent to all the EDOs concerned to inform them that action would be taken if the teams found that patients were being supplied with substandard medicines.—APP