NAWABSHAH, Feb 17: Sindh Health Secretary Dr. Naushad A. Shaikh said on Saturday that the Sindh government would soon appoint about 1,500 doctors to overcome shortage of doctors in different government hospitals across the province.

Talking to journalists on the sidelines of the 4th annual symposium of the Nawabshah Medical College for Girls Mr Shaikh said that of the 1500 doctors, 800 would be appointed in grade 17 and 700 in grade 18 and above.

He said that the NMC hospital would soon be provided a new CT scan and an MRI machine. The health department had started telemedicine facility in six districts of the province including Karachi, he said.

The government was providing latest instruments to the government hospitals and was considering raising health expenditure in the next budget, he said and added that his department had requested the federal health ministry to increase Sindh’ quota of hepatitis vaccines under the Prime Minster’s Programme.

The secretary who was chief guest at the two-day symposium which started on February 16 said earlier in his address that symposia helped bring together a large number of medical and allied professionals to pool their knowledge, wisdom and experience and share it with others.

He said that health research was of fundamental importance and a lot of sufferings and diseases and malnutrition and disabilities could be prevented by adopting new interventions and cost-effective approach, he noted.

He said that there would be a complete ban on the sale of cigarettes in the areas surrounding educational institutions and the health department would strictly enforce the ban in government hospitals, medical colleges as well as all the health institutions.

He hoped that the NMC would become one of the best health education institution of the country and said that there was a need for building people’s confidence in the services offered at the government hospitals.

NMC Principal Prof Ali Akbar Ghumro said that several measures had been taken to shape up the college’s working.

Symposium Secretary Prof Gulshan Ali Memon said that the college would continue to produce talented doctors and organise such events in future.

Earlier, more than 70 professors and doctors from different institutions of the country including Aga Khan University Hospital, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Liaquat National Hospital, Chandka Medical College, Baqai Medical University, Isra University and Dow University of Health Sciences read papers on different topics including backache management, transpubic urethroplasty, complications of hernia, complications of hysterectomy, gamla syndrome and bowl syndrome.