KHAIRPUR, March 1: Adequate medical and diagnostic facilities are not available at government-run health centres in the district, reveals a survey conducted by this correspondent.

These centres included the Civil Hospital Khairpur, Lady Wellington Hospital, two taluka hospitals, 11 rural health centres, 76 basic health units and 30 dispensaries.

Only 350 doctors and eight specialists are working at the Civil Hospital which cater to the need of 1.8 million people of the district. The government furnished some health centres with required equipments but not provided funds to utilize them.

It was learnt that many specialists were avoiding to join the hospital due to absence of service structure. Some surgeons, child specialists and cardiologists have not been promoted and those general doctors who were appointed as their subordinates have been promoted to administrative positions.

There was a need of neuro-surgeons, urologists, psychiatrists, neuro-physicians, skin specialists, gynaecologists and anaesthetists at the civil hospital Khairpur.

Coronary care unit and intensive care unit working at civil hospital were set up in 1997 by the Red Crescent Society. With the passage of time many instruments, including cardiac monitors, pulse oxymeters, had gone out of order.

Equipments needed at the hospital included echo-cardiography machine, central monitor, defibrillator, ECG machines, pulse oxymeters, dialysis machine for Hepatitis-B positive patients, incubators, ultrasound, angiography and X-ray machines and ventilator.

MPA Dr Mehreen Bhutto provided an echo-cardiogram machine for the CCU from her quota and the district government sanctioned Rs5 million for the health facilities.

THEFT: Some unidentified thieves took away an ultrasound machine, trolley and stabilizer from the Khairpur Civil hospital here the other day by breaking a wall of the ultrasound room in the main building.