LARKANA, Aug 23: Justice Amir Hani Muslim and Mr Justice Syed Sajjad Ali Shah of Larkana circuit bench of the Sindh High Court have advised the government to fill the vacancies of medical officers of jails through the Sindh Public Service Commission.

They extended the advice at a meeting held here on Tuesday with the additional secretaries of home and health departments, director-general of health, DPOs, DCOs anf district jail superintendents of Larkana, Jacobabad, Shikarpur and Dadu.

The meeting took stock of the state of prisoners’ health who were often suffering from hepatitis B and C in the jails. At present there were 12 vacancies for medical officers for jails in the province, the meeting was told.

The DG of health said that blood screening of prisoners for hepatitis B and C was conducted at Dadu district jail and the patients, if any, would be provided medicines.

There were 20 prisoners in District Jail Shikaprur who had contracted hepatitis B and C and they would be provided treatment within six days after finance department was consulted for early provisions of required funds from extra budget provisions.

Larkana Central Prison had seven hepatitis B and one hepatitis C prisoners for which the DCO of Larkana and DG of health would provide treatment, the meeting was told.

In District Jail Jaocbabad there were 27 cases of hepatitis B and the DG of health assured to provide them treatment.

The meeting also discussed the dilapidated condition of buildings of the sub-jails in the four districts and asked the building department to undertake the repair work.

The district and sessions judges would monitor the entire exercise of medical facilities to the prisoners suffering from hepatitis B and C and regularly report to the additional registrar of Sindh High Court.