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LARKANA, June 15: The management of Chandka Medical College Hospital has surrendered funds to the tune of Rs152,992,700 to the Sindh finance department.
Sources told this correspondent on Monday that the health department had sanctioned this extra amount, giving an impression to the world health agencies that funds in bulk had been allocated for the health sector.
In fact the amount was saved from house-rent allowances, medical allowances and special relief allowance of the hospital staff, the sources said. The sources said that the medical superintendent of the CMCH had constantly been demanding an increase in diet and medicine budget but the Sindh government sanctioned funds every year under the heads where the same remained un-utilized.
It might be mentioned that the 1,230-bed hospital received only Rs2 million for three-time meals of patients. Each patient received Rs4.45 for three meals. A patient in the People's Medical College Hospital Nawabshah received Rs9.64 per day for three meals.
The LMCH Jamshoro having bed strength of 1,200 received Rs12.64 per patient per day and the Civil Hospital Karachi with 1,400 bed strength received Rs10.83 per patient per day.
The CMCH received Rs20.372 million under the head of medicine. The PMCH Nawabshah received Rs16.699 million, the LMCH Jamshoro received Rs46.313 million and the Civil Hospital Karachi received Rs60.760 million, the sources said.
A patient per day in the ward of CMCH received Rs45.37, in the PMCH Nawabshah Rs61, in the LMCH Jamshoro Rs105.7 and in the Civil Hospital Karachi Rs118.90, respectively, for medicines.
The sources said that the CMCH had requested additional amount of Rs33 million to coup with the situation but in vain. The mangers of the CMCH had time and again been approaching the Sindh health department for the increase in allocations in diet and medicine budget.
Instead of earmarking more amounts under the two heads, the government allocated funds where they were hardly consumed and more often surrendered at the end of each financial year.
