KARACHI, March 11: A delay in the execution of long overdue maintenance and repairs works, this time caused by the withholding of allocated government fund, has resulted in a sharp deterioration of the quality of facilities offered to patients at the Civil Hospital Karachi, it has been learnt by Dawn.

A source in the hospital administration said that while some technical hitches about maintenance and repairs works – in suspension for about seven months – had been overcome, a number of outpatient departments and in-house patient units were still in a shambles.

He said that face-lifting of different buildings, improvement of sanitation and water supply systems and construction of pathways on the hospital premises had suffered on account of the withholding of routine funds allocated in the provincial budget.

The source said that not a single paisa of the allocated nine million rupees had been released to the hospital so far despite the passage of eight months of the ongoing financial year.

As if the withholding of government funds meant for the hospital was not enough, the works and services department of the Sindh government has failed to delegate to a CHK assistant engineer powers of a drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) till such time an executive engineer is posted at the hospital.

The source said the hospital had sent repeated reminders and requests for the delegation of powers to the provincial government’s works and services department.

He explained that at present repair and maintenance works could not be put out to tender, urgent purchases could not be carried out and payments could not be made to contractors and suppliers by the hospital.

He recalled that the last CHK executive engineer was removed on the recommendation of former Sindh health minister Syed Sardar Ahmad.

It was learnt that the posting of a new executive engineer or delegation of drawing and disbursing powers to an assistant engineer had been delayed on the ground that the grant of a special status to CHK with regard to fund utilisation expired last year.

The posting of a senior engineer exclusively for the hospital was a special measure approved by the former chief minister for one year.

The source, however, recalled that a couple of weeks back a competent authority had allowed a one-year extension in the special status of CHK. This was done primarily with a view to executing repairs and maintenance works.

The source said that in a related development the works and services department had agreed to allow an assistant engineer posted at CHK to work as a DDO. However, he added, the hospital still awaited a required letter by the department on the subject.

Another source told Dawn that the financial situation of the hospital had deteriorated to such an extent that the medical superintendent had stopped visiting various wards and departments fearing that he would face a barrage of questions from colleagues.He said that red tape and bureaucratic indifference might force the hospital administration to restart some of the works which had been left unfinished by contractors upset by withholding of funds and absence of official approval.

He said that some drainage and water works might be put out to tender again. He said that the plastering of the roof to stop water seepage, maintenance of pathways and routine maintenance works would take a long time even if the long-awaited funds were released now and relevant powers were transferred to government engineers at CHK.

Insiders, however, did not absolve the hospital’s autonomous board of governors of responsibility for the sorry state of affairs. They said that if the board of governors had been “receptive”, things might have improved at the hospital rather than deteriorate. They recalled that in October 2007 the then provincial health minister had expressed his dissatisfaction over the state of affairs obtaining at CHK and said that unless the board of governors, doctors and other staff did not discharge their duties efficiently, patients would continue to suffer.