KARACHI, Feb 25: The new provincial health secretary, who took charge on Monday, was told about the major problems facing the Civil Hospital, Karachi, during his first visit to the CHK as secretary on Tuesday.

The secretary — Ashique Hussein Memon — directed the senior officials concerned to prepare reports on the important issues raised during the visit. Of particular importance was the non-availability of the required number of nurses and paramedical staff.

In the brief given by the CHK’s administration, Mr Memon had been informed that the hospital had too few nurses and other paramedical staff. But because a ban on recruitment had been in place for the last several years, the vacant positions couldn’t be filled.

Mr Memon directed his additional secretary to look into the issue and prepare a report, with the help of CHK’s staff, as soon as possible.

The other problem discussed during the visit involved the hospital’s 100-year-old drainage system. Mr Memon was told that the sanitary conditions on its premises simply couldn’t be improved without a complete overhaul of the hospital’s sewerage.

During his visit, Mr Memon was shown the small pools of sewage which had surfaced because of the rickety drainage system. The engineers of the Public Works Department were told by the secretary to rectify the situation without delay.

Yet another issue discussed during the secretary’s visit involved the hiring of security personnel.

Meanwhile, during his visit Mr Memon inspected the refurbished gynaecology ward and emergency operation theatres. These sections of the hospital were upgraded and renovated with the help of funds provided by some philanthropists under the Public-Private Partnership programme.

Mr Memon showed keen interest in the programme. He also discussed the financial health of the hospital.