Hospital's 45 Machines Idle: Patients Suffer

Liaquat University Hospital, a major tertiary care facility in Sindh, faces a critical infrastructure challenge, with 45 vital machines lying dysfunctional. This includes three MRI, four CT Scan, six digital X-ray, ten ultrasound, and seventeen anesthesia machines. The lack of maintenance funding has rendered these essential devices inoperable, significantly impacting the care of economically disadvantaged patients from across the district and interior Sindh. The report indicates that repair and maintenance for these machines would cost an estimated Rs694 million. The cardiology department has not performed any surgeries in the past nine years, and a Thallium Scan Machine procured in 2017-18 remains uninstalled due to a missing component. Hospital administration cited funding shortages as a primary constraint, limiting the department's capacity despite having cardiology consultants posted.

The hospital's emergency and OPD units are also reported to lack fundamental sanitation and spatial measures, posing health risks. Furthermore, ICU and general medical wards suffer from inadequate facilities, including non-functional lifts and a shortage of essential medical equipment. Recommendations have been made to reallocate Rs294 million from salaries to maintenance and repair as a special measure. An additional Rs398.394 million is proposed for enhancing emergency department services, bringing the total estimated requirement to Rs694 million.